Some Gifts for the Shield Hero
by RobinRounds
Summary: Naofumi was destined to be the Shield Hero. Destined to always be put down by his fellow heroes, adventurers, and even by the people he is supposed to protect. However, a kind hand intervenes before Naofumi can fully become the Shield Hero and offers him a simple gift: a collection of ten rings.
1. Outside Intervention

**Some Gifts for the Shield Hero**

**Chapter One – Outside Intervention**

It all started when a book fell from a shelf.

Like any decent book browser, he picked it up without a care. "Hmm… The weapons of the four saints?" He turned the book over in his hands, examining the ragged cover. "What's a novel doing with the manga?"

The book looked decades old, slightly dusty, and the colors of the book's cover were more than a little faded. The fact that such a downtrodden book could be found in a university library was kind of rare. "Jeez. Don't they take care of books in this place?" he muttered. The cover looked interesting enough to take a peek. It wasn't like he had anything better to do. Besides, the mystic looking symbols on the front looked sort-of neat.

"Is it a fantasy novel?" The first pages were an introduction to a typical fantasy setting. "It's the kind that starts out by talking about the end of the world..." he tried not to sound disappointed, and failed. "_It might have been a neat __premise__ when it was published, but that is so overused now._"

The book spouted the usual cliché lines about summoning heroes, how the heroes had to be from another world, and how each hero got their own special legendary weapon. It even had the usual special four items. In this case a sword, spear, bow, and shield. "_A Shield?_" He pondered, "_Shields aren't exactly weapons..._" It seemed a nice enough idea for an introduction. Simple, easy to follow. Browsing a few pages of the book couldn't hurt…

And so he read, "So the weapons follow game logic? That's kinda overused too." And read, "Wow, its been a while since I've seen a character get the deck stacked against him so badly in the first few chapters..."

But right as he got to the pages of the Hero awakening to the guards accusing the Shield hero of rape, the pages became an irritating white. All of them blank as if they had been freshly made. It irked him fiercely.

"Oh come on!" He protested, "it was just getting interesting! No wonder this book was treated so poorly. It's a botched print!" He flipped ahead, hoping that maybe the story continued, and that there was only the one missing chapter.

To his frustration, the rest of the pages were just as disappointingly empty. It was enough to bring on a blinding headache.

A very blinding headache.

"Why… is it blank?"

He fell forwards, expecting to feel the rough library carpet smack him in the face.

000000

What he felt instead was a sudden tug on the back of his collar before being yanked into a void of white.

He blinked, perplexed by the change in scenery. A room of white expanding around him almost infinitely, "Uh, Hello?" he called out awkwardly.

"Behind you."

He turned, to see a Man sitting behind a large oak desk. To his left were dozens of little purse like pouches, to his right were dozens of files. The man was perusing a file. "Ah welcome," the man greeted. "Please take a seat." A chair, made of the same oak as the desk appeared. Left with little option, and more than a little confused, he took the offered seat. Never looking away from the man behind the desk.

The man behind the desk placed the file down haphazardly and looked at him, "Now dear boy, I'm sorry to say this, but you've been Isekai-ed."

He blinked again, the headache was coming back. "Ise...kai-ed?"

The man behind the desk nodded, "Yup. Seems like some force of imagination slated you to be picked for some otherworldly shenanigans."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Seriously?"

"Yes."

"But why me?"

"My personal theory is unrealized sadism," The man behind the desk explained, "or it could always be the self-insert thing that all creators seem to do at some point."

A little bit of otaku lifestyle slipped out, "So are you going to give me superpowers and stuff before sending me on my way?"

The Man behind the desk grinned. "In a way, but not because of why you're thinking. I'm not the one who picked you either. I'm here… more as a deliveryman."

The confusion came back. "What?" he asked intelligently.

The man behind the desk leaned back in his chair. The hard wood flexing and reshaping until it looked more like a wooden recliner. "So, what was supposed to happen was you get transported, then you get fucked over. Royally. Like, risking execution or a cursed existence. Whatever." The man behind the desk pointed at the pouches. "So my Makers decided that they didn't like the way your story was supposed to go. Thus they sent me to find you first."

"So do I pick one of these bags then?"

"Nope, first you tell me your name. Then I give you the bag my makers chose for you."

He frowned, "Shouldn't you know my name already?"

The man behind the desk glared slightly. "Kid do you have any idea how many people across the universes get Isekai-ed on a monthly basis? Thousands. Tens of thousands to be more accurate. Most of which fade away from existence before their story is finished because the deities that screwed with them got bored or forgot about them."

"Forgot about them?"

"Even the Makers have limited brain space. If they forget their creations, they either stay forgotten or stay frozen in time. The story stays unfinished if you will. Understand?"

"I think so?" In truth, he really didn't.

"Good, now, your name?" The man behind the desk demanded.

"Naofumi… Iwatani Naofumi!" He stated.

"Iwatani is the family name right? I hate getting that mixed up..." The man behind the desk shuffled around the folders in front of him for a few moments before pulling out a file labeled _'Rising of the Shield Hero'_. "Here you are, pouch model number two-twenty-four. The Ten Rings set." A pouch was softly tossed to the Isekai victim.

Naofumi caught the pouch before it would have landed in his lap. "So what is this?"

The man behind the desk leaned back again, "If I remember right, ten rings ripped from another world. I think they were mostly suited for defense. I know one of them is supposed to make you _wiser_."

Naofumi looked at the bag in his hand. "Wiser? Not smarter?"

"Smart guys can still make stupid mistakes because they don't understand why what they did was wrong."

"But why give me a ring that makes me wiser?" His head tilted to one side.

"Because my Makers believe that most people who get Isekai-ed are people without a drop of sense or awareness."

"Oh..." Naofumi sat in silence for a moment, trying to not feel insulted. "So what now?"

"Well you have two options. First is to open the bag, read the note inside, and put on the rings before I finish shipping you off to your future home. Second option is that you decide to ignore the hint I just gave you, and I drop you into your new life with no boost from the start."

Not thick enough to ignore the advice, Naofumi pulled open the bag and poured the rings out, swiftly slipping them on his fingers. The note was unfolded just as fast. He read it three times, confusion growing with each reading.

_Ring of Virtuous Good_

_Ring of Universal Energy Immunity_

_Ring of Weaponbreaking_

_Ring of Rapid Healing_

_Ring of Regeneration_

_Ring of Freedom of Movement_

_Ring of Sustenance_

_Ring of Force Shield_

_Ring of Telekinesis_

_Ring of Epic Wisdom_

Naofumi blinked at the list. "Wait… This is just a bunch of names? This doesn't tell me anything." he looked back to the man behind the desk, who was looking up.

Naofumi looked up. He didn't see the chair beneath him vanish, but he certainly felt it.

000000

The blinding headache was back, the white room was gone and so was everything in it.

Naofumi now found himself on his back in a room made of stone, lit by torches, and filled with people in armor and robes. Most of whom were talking excitedly to themselves.

One man in robes stepped forward, a band of gold around his head and his hands clasped in prayer. "O' Four Saint Heroes of old!" He beseeched, "please help save our world!"

Naofumi looked at the shield that was now locked onto his left arm, the ten rings on his fingers, and the note crumpled in his hand.

"Oh fuck me. I'm the Shield Hero."


	2. Bigot Filled Beginning

**Some Gifts for the Shield Hero**

**Chapter Two – Bigot Filled Beginnings**

"Oh fuck me. I'm the Shield Hero."

In retrospect, not Naofumi's smartest choice of words. Behind him, the others summoned alongside him were too busy to be amazed to notice what their fellow hero said. Naofumi took a moment to glance at the glowing geometric patterns beneath him, the altar nearby was glowing softly as well. "_Desk guy was right. I did get summoned._" The world still looked like reality, sans for an easily missed marker at the edge of his vision. "Huh."

The leader in robes continued his approach, still keeping his hands in prayer. "While I'm certain you are all very taken aback by your circumstances, time runs short of all of us." Naofumi's eyes narrowed as he recognized the tactic; strike while they are off guard. Something more likely to make those who you are appealing to more pliable.

"Within our country of Melromarc, " the lead priest continued, "vicious demons in large numbers have crawled out from a materialized dimensional crack, and are exposing everyone to great danger! Our country's knights and adventurers barely managed to eliminate the first wave of demons, but the hourglass is already indicating the next wave of calamities will soon be upon us."

Perhaps it was the ring boosting his wisdom, but Naofumi already had several questions forming, some of them pulled from what he had read in the book before being tugged along twice over. "_What hourglass? How did they summon us? Can we go back? And why the fuck was I picked for this?!_" He gave a solid tug to the shield attached to him. "_And how do I take this shield off?_"

The robe wearing crowd was getting more excited, more than one running out of the room. No doubt to carry some message or another. Naofumi was busy keeping an eye on the crowd, the thumb of his right hand idly stroking one of his newly gained rings. "_Perhaps... it might be safer letting others do the talking._" The current shield hero hadn't forgotten how his book counterpart had been given grief, and judging by the sly sneers he was spotting, he expected to deal with similar troubles.

The other three heroes reacted in a more expected manner, shouting their disbelief in near unison, "**What?!**"

"To put it simply, due to various circumstances, we were able to summon you brave Heroes through an ancient spell."

"Summoned?" the spear carrier questioned.

The head priest bowed low enough that it was a surprise he didn't tip over, "This world is currently facing a global state of crisis. Brave Ones, please lend us your might."

Naofumi could see the newest sword hero was a little suspicious, "Is that so?"

The Spear Hero was decadently flippant, "Can I just go back to my old world?" He asked, "I already heard this kind of story before."

Naofumi frowned. Either the new spear hero had done this before, or he was a jackass of the lowest caliber. The Bow Hero was silent, perhaps he too was taking a wait and see approach to this.

"Aren't you people guilty over summoning us without our consent?" the sword holder questioned arrogantly, "We won't just fight for world peace and then return to our old world empty handed, right?" The Bow hero started scowling at the robed men."You guys don't seem to take much consideration into our own plans, do you?" The Sword Hero continued, "Depending on what you have to offer, we might end up becoming this world's enemy instead, got it?"

Naofumi scowl deepened. "_He learns that he's going to become a mythical hero and he wants payment?_" The thought left a bitter taste in the Shield Hero's mouth, "_That is just... greedy._"

The robed men and the leading priest seemed a little troubled by the Sword Hero's demands. "Well first, I'd like you all to have an audience with the king. We can discuss your reward then." A pair of knights behind the crowd opened a heavy wooden door, before stepping aside to let the four of us through.

"Right." The Spear guy was on his feet and already moving for the door.

"The guy we'll be meeting changes, but I bet the story's still the same." Sword guy complained, but followed.

The Bow carrier still didn't say anything, but followed nonetheless.

As Naofumi walked past, he could hear the lead priest mutter, "...Guess it can't be helped."

It didn't help the Shield Hero's growing sense of unease.

000000

The corridor outside the summoning chamber was long and decorated, with multiple windows letting in a welcome flow of sunshine. Past the thick glass, a medieval looking town stretched out to the horizon. "_Definitely a capital city, at least it __i__s pretty to look at._" Naofumi thought, too used to the towering buildings and cramped skyline of Japan's clustered cities. "_Maybe it won't be so bad here._"

The next room was far more decorated. Tapestries, artistic pillars, fluffy rugs, and golden candle holders. A room for luxury or nobility. "_Judging by the throne in the room, more likely a smaller __audience__ chamber._"

An older man with a long beard and longer hair entered from a side door, he wore flowing robes with jewels sewn into the cloth and a heavy cloak over his shoulders. A golden circlet rested around his head, the window-light in the room reflecting off of the palm-sized ruby in its center. He gave one glance to the four heroes before turning to someone and asking, "Oh, are these fellows the Ancient Heroes?"

It didn't leave that great of an impression.

The newcomer took a seat in the throne, trying to look important. "I am the king of this country, Aultcray. The thirty-second ruler of Melromarc. Brave ones, please raise your heads." the King said pompously.

Naofumi felt a growing need to punch him, and wondered if the others felt the same way.

"Now then, let me explain our situation. This country, and moreover, this whole world is facing its demise." the longer the king spoke, the more it showed how much he liked the sound of his own voice. "Currently, there is a prophesy predicting the world's end. This world will be assaulted by waves of calamity which will one day turn everything to ruin. To save the world, these waves must be repelled before they can be dispersed."

"_Oh god __dammit._" Naofumi cursed in his mind, "_He's just repeating what we've already been told!_"

"This era marks the prophesied year." The King continued, either ignoring or uncaring of the growing annoyance on the heroes' faces. "There exists a giant, ancient hourglass which continues to drip down ceaselessly. It has the ability to forecast when the waves will arrive and it began its warning a month ago. According to the legends, each wave will come in roughly one month intervals. Initially, the residents of this country were not too concerned over the prophecy. However, as prophesied, when the hourglass had completed its first turn, a wave of disaster occurred."

When the king stopped talking he could finally see the heroes were less enraptured than he would have liked.

Just like before the one with the sword was as sharp and subtle as his weapon, "I understand your dilemma. But who gave you the right to summon us into doing manual labor for free?"

"It is one hell of a convenient story." Spear guy added.

Even the bow hero chose to speak. "... Even if that is the case, and this isn't me being selfish or anything, but if this world is going into ruin then let it be destroyed. This matter doesn't even concern us."

Naofumi really wanted to point out how all three of them were kind of being selfish dicks, but that would mean drawing attention to himself.

"We have no obligation to help you." The sword Hero pointed out, "In the end it'll just be fruitless labor for us. And once peace comes, you guys will just go 'sayonara' as if nothing happened. So to prevent such a sad outcome from occurring, I'd like to hear some form of insurance from you. Surely you have something to present us, right?"

His greed was so obvious Naofumi wasn't sure he would need the wisdom ring to spot it.

The king sent his vassal a glance."Of course, we planned on rewarding the Brave Ones fully for their efforts. I had already made arrangements to aid your cause with money. And surely, since the Brave Heroes will be protecting our world, I have already prepared a fitting place for you Brave Ones to rest."

Naofumi blinked. _"Really?"_

Spear guy was smiling like an idiot, "Those are all well and good promises then."

The Sword Hero was smirking, but still trying not to look bought. "Don't think that we can be tamed with only this much though. You'll have to continue giving your cooperation if you don't want us to turn rogue."

"... That's right." The Bow Hero added.

"_Are you three nothing but treasure seeking jackasses?!_" Out of the four of them, the Shield Hero was the only one who seemed capable of acting like a decent person. The book should have prepared him for this, but reading and experiencing are always two different things. "_They weren't this bad in the books were they?!_"

The king stood, dramatically outstretching his arms. "Well then, Heroes. Let us hear each of your names."

"_Uggh, this is __definitely__ going like the book._" then the thought struck Naofumi, "_Oh shit. That means I'm gonna get accused of rape!_"

The arrogant sword hero stepped forward, "My name is Amaki Ren. Age sixteen, a high school student." At a glance, the Sword hero looked like a brown-hair brown-eyed pretty boy stereotype. All he needed to be was a little taller.

The Spear stepped forward, cocky and confidant, "Next up will be yours truly. My name's Kitamura Motoyasu. Twenty-one this year, a university student." Blond hair in a ponytail, and the feel of a playboy.

Naofumi was getting annoyed with the number of pretty boys.

The Bow Hero stepped forward next, and presented himself with a small polite bow. "It's my turn next. My name is Kawasumi Itsuki. Seventeen right now, another high school student." Again, another blond haired pretty boy.

Naofumi was now annoyed and feeling self conscious about his looks. No, he wasn't jealous.

The Shield Hero didn't step forward, nor did he bow. "I'm Iwatani Naofumi. Twenty years old. I'm also a university student."

The King ignored the introduction. Naofumi recognized the snub for what it was. "_Crap. I am going to get royally fucked after all._"

"Hmm. So your names are Ren, Motoyasu, and Itsuki, yes?" The king's subtlety could be replaced by a world war two sturmtiger with a silencer and still be just as effective.

Naofumi didn't bother correcting him.

"Now then, everyone please confirm your own status." the king requested, "As a matter of fact, I would like you all to visually check for yourselves. "

Motoyasu panicked, "What, how?" they asked.

Itsuki looked at the king and timidly asked for guidance. "How do I check my status?"

Ren was more than a little shocked, "What the hell guys. You guys didn't even notice that much after coming to this world?"

Motoyasu was more than a little chaffed by the question, "How should I know!" he blustered, "What was there for me to notice? Your face?"

Ren cradled his face in his hand, "Whatever, just look. Do you see an icon in the corner of your vision?"

Itsuki was as verbose as ever. "Oh."

"Focus your mind on it and you'll see." Ren instructed.

All of them focused, and before their eyes, the little marker expanded into a screen displaying a summary of information.

**[Iwatani Naofumi]**

**Occupation: Hero of the Shield**

**Level: 1**

**Equipment: Small Shield (legendary Armament), Parallel World's Clothes, Ring of Virtuous Good (Epic Accessory), Ring of Universal Energy Immunity (Epic Accessory), Ring of Weaponbreaking (Epic Accessory), Ring of Rapid Healing (Epic Accessory), Ring of Regeneration (Legendary Accessory), Ring of Freedom of Movement (Legendary Accessory), Ring of Sustenance (Legendary Accessory), Ring of Force Shield (Legendary Accessory), Ring of Telekinesis (Legendary Accessory), Ring of Epic Wisdom (Epic Accessory) **

**Skills: None**

**Magic: None**

The Screen had other details, personal information, even a chart showing the distribution of stats. The Chart showed that both defense and magical power were touching the edge of the chart. No surprise, the attack stat was absolutely abysmal. "_How am I supposed to fight if my attack is so low? Am I just supposed to be a support character?_" Naofumi dismissed the status, a lump of unease growing in his gut.

"Level 1 huh... this doesn't look very reassuring." Ren's ego and mouth had to be tied together somehow.

"Right, I don't even know if it's possible to fight like this." Motoyasu quipped.

"That's exactly what I thought." Itsuki added.

The king noticed the amazed looks the heroes gave the status screen. "Tools like these don't exist in the Brave Ones' world? This Status magic can be used by everyone in this world, helping to improve ourselves."

Ren tried to play it off, adding to his jackass points. "Is that so? So then, what should we do now? Our current values seem rather troubling."

"From now on, you Brave Heroes will need to venture forth so that you may hone and strengthen both yourselves as well as your legendary armaments."

"Strengthen? Does that mean that our starting equipment isn't strong enough?"

"Yes, the legendary weapon of each summoned Hero has their own special method of enchantment. By doing so they can become very powerful."

"Legend this, legend that." Motoyasu whirled his spear around like a cheerleader spinning a baton. "It's fine not to change weapons as long as it can function properly as a weapon, right?"

Naofumi was getting tired of the less than subtle snubs. It was already tempting to see if he could make any of them eat his shield if it would shut them up.

"That doesn't matter right now, so we can leave it for later. More importantly, what we need is to improve our own abilities, right?" Itsuki questioned. "So are we going to form a party with the four of us?"

"_The idea does have some merit..._" Naofumi thought, however The king just had to cut in.

"Brave Heroes, please hold for a moment."

"_Oh, what now..._" Right now Naofumi wanted nothing more than to find some place to kick back and just relax. With all the stress getting piled on, he could feel his temper getting closer to the surface.

"Each of you Brave Heroes will need to recruit your own companions and begin your adventures separately." The king stated.

Naofumi couldn't hold his tongue, "And the reason for that is?"

"According to legend, it's said that the legendary weapons will reject each other should you Brave Heroes band together. The magics of the armaments interfere with the growth of both the owners and the weapons."

"I don't get it," Itsuki replied, "so if we act together we can't increase our power?"

Naofumi's boosted wits were rapidly growing suspicious. "_Whatever or whoever made the weapons… What's their game? Why make them grow stronger but interfere? Why do they have all these game mechanics? This feels more like something is trying to force us to move in a specific way._"

The Heroes shared an uneasy glance.

Then the screens reappeared, this time showing a message rather than the status screen.

**Attention:**

**If those who possess the legendary weapons worked together on a united front, a repulsing reaction will occur. Therefore, let us move individually as much as possible.**

Naofumi's eyes widened. _"Us? What does it mean 'Us'? Is this Shield aware?" _The message was dismissed like the status, but the feeling of unease it created was harder to banish. "_Someone is playing a game with me as one of the pieces._"

The King walked before the Heroes, all smiles and cheer. "Between improving ourselves and recruiting comrades. I wonder which should be done first?" He clapped a hand on Ren and Motoyasu's shoulders, smiling at Itsuki, "Allow me to prepare your comrades. At any rate, the sun is already beginning to set. Brave Ones, please take your time and rest for the day. You may depart for your journey tomorrow. During that time I shall make arrangements and scout for talented individuals who can accompany you on your destiny."

The three liked heroes were just as cheerful, thinking how much fun they were going to have. "Thank you very much."

Still ignored and rather thankful his head wasn't stuck up his own ass, Naofumi gave a polite "Thank you." before allowing himself to be led to the rooms prepared by the king.

With each step, Naofumi's mind raced against a clock counting down to his doom. "_My teammates are greedy, arrogant jackasses. The King has a grudge against me for some reason. I'm stuck in another world. There is a very high chance I'm gonna get accused of rape. There is a horde of monsters that is going to invade soon._" The Shield Hero glanced at the slip of paper, still crushed in his hand. "_and all I have to save me is ten rings that do I-don't-know-what, and a Shield._"

Naofumi stopped in the middle of a hallway, the men escorting pretended to not notice.

"I really am fucked aren't I?"


	3. My Fellow Heroes Suck

**Some Gifts for the Shield Hero**

**Chapter Three – My Fellow Heroes Suck**

If there was one thing Naofumi was grateful for, it was a fluffy bed.

He would be more grateful if he didn't have to share the room with three jackasses. Naofumi was fast coming to accept that whatever force dragged his butt to this world was determined to make his stay as unbearable as possible. In the smallest of mercies, the other heroes were busy examining their weapons and the knowledge given to them by the screens. Where the Spear, Sword, and Bow Heroes all took their time learning about the weapons, The Shield Hero was focusing on how the game worked.

"_Opening the Status lets me learn more about myself. But what if I focus on a specific detail?_" It took more trial and error than he would like to admit, and if anyone were to look at him they would see him glaring at the ceiling as if he wished to light it into an inferno. Focusing on specific stats did nothing, focusing on his name did nothing, but focusing on items on his inventory did something.

A new screen popped up as he stared at a ring in his inventory. The newest screen covered the status, and its message was written in the same bold text as the rest of the status screen.

**Ring of Universal Energy Immunity (Epic Accessory)**

**This ring functions as a ring of energy immunity for all types of energy—fire, cold, electricity, acid, and sonic. The wearer takes no damage from energy of any of these types. **

"_Huh. Neat._" It wasn't much, but it was a start. Naofumi's glare turned to the Shield. The Information was both helpful and frustrating all at once. Two more screens appeared. An information prompt, and what can best be described as a tree of branching paths. There were hundreds of different depictions of shields, each covered with the unmistakable image of a lock.

**Small Shield (Legendary Armament)**

**The Legendary Shield is one of the Four Legendary Weapons. The person which possesses this weapon is called the "Hero of the Shield". The Legendary Shield gives its user great defensive power and can evolve and transform to become stronger however the user cannot equip any other weapons. It has a special jewel in the middle which can transform the Shield under specific conditions.**

"Transform?" he muttered, "_Wait? Conditions? What conditions?_" he gazed at the display of shields. "_I wonder..._" Just like everything else with the mental display, all it took was a bit of focus in the right spot to access the information desired.

**Form (Type): Tower Shield (Silver)  
Requirements: Weapon Copy – Tower Shield, Absorbing Silver Ore  
Bonus: Defense +50  
Special Effect(s): Total Cover**

"_This just raises further questions!?_" Naofumi wanted to scream and pull his hair out in frustration. "_What the fuck does it mean by 'weapon copy'? And what the hell does it mean 'absorbing'? Does it have to be so goddamned vague?_" he glanced at his fellow heroes, each of them just as fixated on their own screens. Or at least it looked that way, he couldn't see what they were seeing. For all he knew Motoyasu was just staring into space.

Naofumi would deny it if asked, but his next test was more than a little stupid and based entirely on the idea that his Shield's power worked like a game. He navigated back to the status screen and focused. His mind aimed at one specific goal. All his mental energy was focused on this one task. With a mental roar that would have echoed to the heavens, he thought as loud as he could: "_Help menu?_"

**Help Menu**

**User Guide  
Help Topics  
Hints  
Context Help  
Glossary  
Flora Encyclopedia  
Fauna Encyclopedia  
Using Help  
Inquiry**

"_You have got to be fucking kidding me. It was that goddamned easy?!_" Naofumi's great focus turned into greater rage and frustration. If it wasn't for the presence of his roommates, there was no doubt the resulting tantrum would have been just as the legendary as the shield still locked to his arm. The moment he calmed down from his impending aneurysm, the Help Menu was figuratively torn apart. The user guide was mostly useless. 'Be a supporter', 'gather materials', and 'collect monster parts' wasn't the kind of advice or help that Naofumi was looking for. "_Who does this manual think I am? __Liliruca Arde?_" The Encyclopedia was equally as useless and just as locked as the shield lists. "_So I have to encounter something before it gets unlocked?_" The Using Help option would have been helpful from the start, but all it really explained was how to use the screens. Help Topics was just a glorified index.

Glossary was where the treasure was waiting, hidden and ripe for the pillaging. "_The shield absorbs monster parts and materials with the green gem, then gains forms and powers based on what it ate._" For the first time in this new world, Naofumi smiled. "_Oh this is going to be so easy to abuse._" he glanced at the rings on his hands, then the shield. If it would eat them, then it wasn't an option, but if the Shield only copied them…

"_Inquiry._" He thought, "_Are the rings in my equipment a weapon copy or an absorption?_"

**Answer: Constructed items are copied. Only raw materials and creatures absorbed.**

Naofumi glanced at his fellow heroes, the three still inspecting their items. Itsuki was practicing with his bow, testing the draw needed. Ren was standing near the door, taking a few practice swings. Motoyasu was poking his spear-tip and was about to... no, never-mind, he was nursing a fresh cut on his fingertip.

Hiding the movement with a yawn and a stretch, Naofumi rubbed the five rings in his right hand against the shield's gem.

**Shields Unlocked: [Glitch Series]**

**Type: Force Shield  
Requirements:_?_  
Bonus: Def +1000  
Special Effect(s): [Wall of Force]**

**Type: Wise Shield  
Requirements:_?_  
Bonus: Increased MP, Increased MP Recovery, Reduced Spell Cost  
Special Effect(s): [Owl's Wisdom]**

**Type: Weaponbreaker's Shield  
Requirements:_?_  
Bonus: Def +100  
Special Effect(s): [Weapon Breaking Aura (Persistent)], [Low Damage Nullification (Persistent)]**

**Type: Virtuous Shield  
Requirements:_?_  
Bonus: All Stats +1000%, Spell Resistance (25)  
Special Effect(s): [Protection From Evil (Persistent)], [Holy Aura (Persistent)]**

**Type: Elemental Immunity Shield  
Requirements:_?_  
Bonus: +5 Defense  
Special Effect(s): [Immune to damage from Fire/Heat], [Immune to damage from Ice/Cold], [Immune to damage from Acid], [Immune to damage from Electricity], [Immune to damage from Sound/Sonic]**

"Oh holy shit." Naofumi exclaimed breathlessly.

This time he caught the attention of his roommates. "What?" Ren questioned, "You find something?"

"No, no. Nothing like that." Naofumi lied, "I just popped a knot in my back and felt my spine relax. That's all"

Ren's eyes narrowed just a bit, and for a second he thought the Sword Hero had seen through his lie.

"You know, you should try to learn more about your shield." Itsuki remarked.

Naofumi shrugged, "Its a shield. There isn't much I can do here and now with it." He gave a pointed look at Itsuki's bow. "Not all of us have the quality tools that let us practice how we want. My only option for practice is to wait until someone wants to try and hit me."

"Oh! I volunteer!" Motoyasu said cheerfully.

"No thanks." there was no missing the exasperated tone in Naofumi's voice. "Besides, with all these shitty mechanics we might get some sort of debuff or penalty if we were to touch weapons."

"Phrasing." Motoyasu said, snickering.

Naofumi was fortunate pillows didn't count as weapons, and his fluffy projectile smacked the Spear Hero in the face. "I'm being serious! Doesn't it bother you guys that these weapons have turned our lives into some twisted idea of a game?"

The Heroes all went silent, a troubled look on their faces the moment Naofumi welcomed the elephant in the room with a bang and an unheard whimper.

Motoyasu, as stupid as he was, was the first to respond, "What? Isn't this an actual game? I've known some which are like this." he boasted.

Naofumi was stunned by the onslaught of sheer stupid.

Ren nodded, grasping the idea like a lifeline, "It is a lot like Emerald Online."

"I think its more like Fantasy Moon Online." Itsuki added.

Now Motoyasu looked confused, "I've never heard of those games."

"You don't play console games?" Itsuki asked with a tilt of his head.

"Console?" Ren snapped, "Emerald online is a net game!"

The Spear Hero's confusion only grew, "Wait… You mean those retro games? Don't you guys play any VRMMO?"

"Those are just Sci-fi bullshit." Ren stated confidently, "What? Do you think this is some anime or something?" The Sword Hero wasn't very genre savvy.

The argument continued to get progressively more heated as the they bickered. Each choosing to ignore the uncomfortable topic that started it. Naofumi could only look at the three of them with exasperation and more than a touch of pity. "Guys! Guys!" he tried to politely get their attention. When that didn't work, he resorted to a roar, "Will you three Shut! The! Fuck! Up!" The Shield Hero bellowed.

The argument died there. "Look, I know its not pleasant to think about and it's really fucking confusing. But, can we please put our heads together and figure out what the fuck is going on?" Naofumi pleaded. "I don't think we came from the same place. So to figure out if I'm right… What country do you live in?"

"Japan?" the three answered.

"What is the most popular way to play video games?"

"The Nintendo traveler just came out?" Itsuki replied.  
"Net games played on a home computer rig." Ren answered.  
"Total Immersion using a dive chair..." Motoyasa stated.

Naofumi didn't give them a chance to think about it and get upset again, "Who is Japan's prime minister?" he demanded.

"Yawahara Tsuyoshi Tarou."  
"Odaka Enichi."  
"Itsufuji Shigeya."

Naofumi grimaced, "In my world it's Yuda Masato." He swallowed the lump growing in his throat. "I don't recognize any of those names… Last question. What year was it in your world?"

"Twenty-twenty-five." Itsuki murmured.  
"It was… The year was two-thousand seventy-six..."  
Even Motoyasu was getting it. "twenty-one thirty-eight."

Naofumi nodded. "I thought so. They didn't just bring us from different worlds, they pulled us from different times too."

"Um...What year was it in your world Naofumi?" Itsuki asked meekly.

"Twenty-Nineteen." Naofumi's gaze lowered just a little. "Look, we should get to know each other. We need to. We're comrades after all." he tried and failed to keep the hopeful tone out of his voice.

Itsuki gave him a pat on the shoulder, "Sounds good to me." he said with a smile.

000000

The next few hours was spent trading stories from their homelands. Each told about their cultures, about jokes and memes, moments in history and so on. Motoyasu loved telling about his antics as a womanizer, and the things he had to do while avoiding a furious boyfriend or the occasional bat wielding husband. Ren's life story was mostly angst, fitting for him and as empty as every other edgy teen story. Itsuki explained his life as a high school kid, nothing fancy, but it was a refreshing slice of life. Of course he had to end his tale on a question that brought the heavy atmosphere back.

"Why do you think we were brought here?"

"I thought this was a second life sort of thing at first." Motoyasu admitted.

The answer perplexed them all, "What do you mean?"

"Well, like it happens… I got caught with a man's wife." the playboy admitted, "He had a knife and was furious and well..."

Now the heavy atmosphere was made awkward as well. "I'm Sorry?" Naofumi said, just as awkwardly.

"I think I was run over. I remember walking home from cram school. A dump truck took a sharp turn… and then I was here." The heavy atmosphere was turning into a depressing pity party.

Ren was next, and proved he was incapable of reading the mood. "I was walking back home from school, when I unfortunately encountered a troubling murder incident." He paused, "I tried helping my childhood friend who was with me at the time, and somehow I managed to capture the killer, but that's as far as I can remember. If you two are any indication, he might have got me in the end."

Naofumi wasn't liking the parallels he was drawing. "I think I died too." he muttered. "I was in a library. I was reading a book, but I think the pages went blank." he was paling, shaking slightly. "I felt a huge pain in my head… everything looked blinding white. Then I think I fell..."

Itsuki gave him another reassuring pat on the back. "It sounds like you might have had a blood clot or something in your head. I'm sorry." his condolences were more genuine, and far more effective.

"Yeah..." Naofumi clapped his cheeks, refusing to bow to shock. "Anyways, we all got another life here. We should make it count!"

Naofumi's cheer was enough for them to ignore the gloomy atmosphere, and soon they back to trading jokes and jibes like guys tended to do. At one point Motoyasu took a trip to the bathroom, only to return with a push cart of snacks and drinks. Soon the wine was spotted and split, allowing them to finally and truly relax.

Naofumi was more than a little irked that his comrades got increasingly sloshed while he didn't get so much as a buzz. "_I don't know if its more shield shenanigans or the rings, but this isn't fair._" No, he absolutely wasn't jealous that he couldn't get drunk.

After a few hours of swapping tales, the sun had finally started to set. A beautiful scarlet sunset radiated on the horizon beyond their windows.

Motoyasu had been hitting the bottles the hardest of all of them and it showed. With a drunken lurch he dropped down beside Naofumi and tossed an arm around his fellow hero. "I feel shoo' sorry for you!" he slurred, "It's gonna suck having the loser class!"

Naofumi was quickly changing his mind about the whole drunken thing.

"You're gonna have to deal with all the tanking and support crap." the Spear wielder continued, "If you can't attack you just gotta take it and deal." he belched, and the smell of digested booze was nauseating. "Just sayin' it sucks to be you."

"That's too mean Yasumoto!" Itsuki protested.

Naofumi briefly wondered if it was smart letting the underaged among them drink. "_I wonder if he noticed he's getting the names wrong. Ren and Motoyasu are kinda assholes, but Itsuki doesn't seem that bad..._" The Shield Hero let out a worry free sigh. "Don't worry about it Itsuki." Naofumi reassured him, "I think this is just his way of showing he cares."

"He's right you know." Ren said, repeating the obvious, "You might have high defense, but if you, jf you keep taking damage like an idiot without a way to fight back you'll die."

"Okay..." Naofumi's awkward deadpan was back, and was still loaded with nearly lethal doses of sarcasm.

Motoyasu clapped his hands, "Alright, time for big brother Motoyasu to teach you some basics…" At this point the spear holder made it clear his mind was not as sharp as his weapon. "Uh… huh… So first… Yeah! So in brave star online shields are used by people who are noobs. Always low level."

Naofumi was really wishing he was as drunk as the rest of them. "So what are you saying?"

"So your loser class will never be a high level."

Naofumi glanced at the others. "Can I get some better advice?"

Ren shook his head. "I think he's right." A long drawn out yawn surprised us all.

Itsuki rubbed at his eyes, almost childishly, "Look. It's late. Maybe we should get some sleep, and talk about this more tomorrow?"

Ren and Motoyasu were more than happy to agree. Naofumi still felt wide awake. "_Is this the rings again?_" he wondered.

The other Heroes returned to their own beds, while Naofumi merely kicked back on his own. "_This is gonna be a long night isn't it?_"

With a few polite exchanges of 'good night', the lights in the room were extinguished. Leaving Naofumi to lay in his bed, wide awake and full of energy.

With nothing better to do he returned to browsing the screens and abusing the Inquiry option. After an hour of asking questions that only led to error messages or more questions he remembered the other five rings had yet to be copied.

Pulling them from his fingers, he swiped each against the gem of his shield before slipping them back on again.

**Shields Unlocked: [Glitch Series]**

**Type: Regenerator's Shield  
Requirements:_?_  
Bonus: HP +100, Increased Heal Rate  
Special Effect(s): [HP recovery (Persistent)], [Regenerate (Persistent)]**

**Type: Freeman's Shield  
Requirements:_?_  
Bonus: Increased Action Speed, Increased Movement Speed, Debuff Immunity, Grapple Immunity, Paralysis Immunity  
Special Effect(s): [Curse Breaker]**

**Type: Gravity Shield  
Requirements:_?_  
Bonus: Reduce Fall Damage  
Special Effect(s): [Push], [Pull], [Lift],[Crush]**

**Type: Healer's Shield  
Requirements:_?_  
Bonus: Healing Effect Increase (Greater), Healing Range Increase (Greater), Healing Effect Cost Reduction (Greater), Intensify Healing Effect  
Special Effect(s): [Grant: Faster Healing], [Heal]**

**Type: Provisioner's Shield  
Requirements:_?_  
Bonus: Fatigue Reduction, Reduced Metabolism (Greater)  
Special Effect(s): [Create Food and Water]**

"_Oh fuck the hell yes._"

Satisfied for the time, Naofumi finally let himself fall asleep, a smile on his face.

000000


	4. Improvise Adapt Overcome

**Some Gifts for the Shield Hero**

**Chapter Four – Improvise. Adapt. Overcome.**

Naofumi's morning was relaxing, stress free, and a defining moment of snug and comfy. He burrowed into the fluffy blankets of his bed, and just enjoyed the quiet tranquility of the early moment.

Then Motoyasu woke up and that moment died screaming a horrible death. It was a sign that the force that brought the four to this world absolutely hated him. The Playboy was one of those blessed bastards who didn't get a hangover. That wasn't the problem, it was the loud and boisterous way he woke.

"Oh fuck yeah! It wasn't a dream!" The Spear Hero crowed, all bright smiles and cheer.

Naofumi's waking grin turned into an almost aggressively disappointed frown. Itsuki and Ren were less kind about their disapproval. They grabbed the first thing they could think of and launched them at the playboy.

Itsuki tossed a pillow. Harmless and acceptable.

Ren ripped the sheath off his sword and flung The metal tube with aggravated intent.

Ren is not a morning person.

Fortunately for Motoyasu, the pillow struck first, smacking him in the face and preventing the impending concussion from being more than a bruise.

"Ow! What the hell Ren?" he complained.

"Shut up..." the Sword Hero groaned weakly, "I've got a hangover." Judging from how Itsuki was trying to bury his head under his remaining pillows and deny the day, one could reason he had one too.

Naofumi was just as bright-eyed and bushy tailed as Motoyasu, just without the playboy behavior and careless recklessness. "Morning guys." he greeted, trying to be polite. Ren and Itsuki gave a wave and zombie-like groans. Motoyasu was too busy poking his forehead and wincing at the bruise. "So… who wants breakfast?"

**000000**

Getting breakfast was easier than expected. The moment they exited their bedroom to find food, they were greeted and then escorted by a maid. One who had likely been waiting all morning for them to get up.

The meal was served in the audience chamber. A long table had been set up then covered with fruits, pastries, some fresh bacon, and pitchers filled with juice. The meal was refreshing, the boys trading idle chatter about how they planned to start their adventures. Ren wanted to challenge powerful monsters, Itsuki wanted to go on some basic monster hunting missions, and Motoyasu planned on getting training from anyone skilled with a spear in the castle.

"Well what about you Naofumi?" Itsuki asked, wiping a dribble of syrup with some pancake.

Naofumi paused in his efforts to complete a one man bacon genocide, "Hmm. I'm probably going to try and find a good supplier of potions and stuff like that."

Ren paused, an apple tart left half devoured in his hand, "Wait a second… Why?"

Naofumi shrugged, "If I'm meant to play defense in this whole…thing..." he did not want to say game, especially with all the servants near, "then I want to be the team support. I can carry the heavy potions, learn some buff magics and stuff like that. That way whenever we work together and whoever I work with won't have to worry as much about me being a burden."

"That's very noble of you Naofumi." Itsuki praised.

Naofumi wondered if the boy noticed the smear of syrup now on his chin. Naofumi politely cleared his throat and tapped his chin, Itsuki wiped his mouth. "It's not so much that I'm doing this to be noble. I...I suppose that I just don't want you guys to think I'm useless." the Shield Hero admitted.

The other three looked genuinely touched.

At least breakfast ended on a high note.

**000000**

Shortly before the noon bell tolled a servant retrieved the four, politely informing them that the king requested a meeting. The Heroes would-be companions had been gathered. Something that only added to Naofumi's worries. "_So, if the book was a foretelling of what's to come then I need to avoid being alone anywhere at all costs._"

They four were led through the castle, finally entering what was most likely the throne room of the castle. The king was already seated in a much more decorated throne. "_I really hope that thing is gold plated._"

King Aultcray was all smiles when they approached, grinning at them with childish excitement. For someone on the cusp of adulthood it could be a pleasant look, or a comforting look. But when a man most likely pushing the line of late sixty grins at younger men and looks like he's at half mast, ready to hop out of his seat, it is unsettling at best and nauseatingly creepy at worst. "Y_esterday he felt like an asshole, today he's making me fear for my asshole..._" The creepy thought gave Naofumi an idea.

The four heroes respectfully knelt before the king, as we had been advised. Naofumi's mind was racing, "_This is a medieval fantasy world. Unless they're going the Game of Thrones route its not something that is normally brought up. It could be worth a shot._"

"As promised yesterday, I have recruited companions who will accompany you on your journey." The king announced, still putting on his kindly and benevolent airs, "Everyone gathered has already decided which hero they wish to follow." The king made some poncy gesture, and a pair of servants opened the doors of the throne room, "Now then, future champions." the royal burden dramatically called, "Please set forth with the Hero to whom you shall swear your allegiance to."

Naofumi's mind worked double-time as the book's pages were reenacted in-front of him. "_I'm not sure I'm gonna pull this off! There's a chance they won't buy it or that it won't matter._" The recruited companions were all standing besides their chosen hero. Just like the book five went to Ren, three to Itsuki, and four to Motoyasu. Nobody stood beside the Hero of the Shield.

"_Shit, the book was right, this is going to suck._" Naofumi looked about the room, false confusion on his face, "Uh, I don't suppose that anyone wants to help me?"

Naofumi could see that the king looked more than a little nervous, a bit of cold sweat was already running down his powdered face. "_That is not a good sign._"

"We-well. Dear me, I would never have thought such a situation could occur." The kingly kiss-ass said, "For something such as this to take place..." he looked down on Naofumi who just looked back innocently, "is probably due to the Hero of the Shield currying little favor among others..."

Naofumi glanced at the collected companions, "I don't supposed any of you men are willing to come with me and be my _sword_?" Naofumi put just enough emphasis on the word to make anyone list wonder, "The _girls _can stay with whom they chose." He insisted, this time emphasizing with a little bit of disgust, "I'd prefer my companion to be tougher and with big muscles." The poleaxed look Motoyasu gave him was enough to know the idea was crossing people's minds. It was not subtle, but not flamboyant, and hopefully enough to aid his upcoming defense.

The redhead from the books was looking at the king with a shocked look, the king trying to communicate something to her without using gestures or saying anything. Both looked like they were trying to not breath while standing in a particularly smelly fart.

Almost all of the women in the throne room had curious looks as if seeing a rare commodity, while the men were all giving looks of mild disgust or discomfort. "_Oh thank god. They aren't the type to crucify at the thought of casual sodomy._" Naofumi thought drolly. He looked at a muscular man with chiseled features standing beside Itsuki, a coy sort of smile stretched out on the Shield Hero's face, "How about you big guy? Want to be my _friend_?" The invited took a nervous step back.

"N-No, thank you. I believe I will be more comfortable with Lord Itsuki." He insisted, taking a step behind the archer hero.

"_Subtle you are not, buddy._" Naofumi shrugged, accepting this, he wasn't going to set himself up for trouble by asking for aid from those who didn't want to give it. It was time for his pitch to the king, "Don't worry your highness." Naofumi did his best to keep his expression upbeat, polite, and untroubled. "If worse comes to worse I can always go find my own party members. I don't want to force someone to join." Here came the first gamble, "I just ask that I receive a little more in my finances so that I can hire mercenaries or gather more in supplies."

The kings eyes narrowed, it was a perfectly reasonable request after all. "What do you need these funds for?" he asked.

Naofumi tried to look meek and sheepish. "Shields are meant to protect and defend." he explained, "If the others are going to fight, then they need someone to heal and defend them."

"That's what their companions are for!" the king sputtered, "Why would you spend your money on healing for them?" he questioned.

Naofumi looked at his fellow Heroes before looking at the king. "Well… We've only know each other for a day. They've been nice to me so far, and we're in this to the end. So I figured I should do what I can to support them." He glanced at the guys again, "We're friends after all."

The king leaned back, rather flummoxed. There really was no counter to that.

"I see." the royal idiot turned to a retainer. "Distribute the funds to the Heroes." He faced the four again, "The Funds will be distributed to the heroes for each and every month." The king looked at Naofumi, for once giving his full attention, "Hero of the Shield, I will double the funds you receive this time. Henceforth, on your own, persuade and recruit more people to stand at your side."

Aultcray stood, once again with the dramatic gestures. "Heroes, you may begin your journeys!" he proclaimed.

**000000**

Naofumi had never been so glad to exit a castle in his life. "_Does it still count if this is technically my second life?_" he pondered, "_Does it count if I never entered a castle in my first life?_"

"I wonder how much sixteen-hundred silver coins is in real money?" he asked aloud, holding the sack up and testing its weight. Technically the heavy sack contained one-thousand five hundred and ninety-nine silver coins. One had been taken out and swiped against the Legendary Shield's gem. The Shield not only scanned the coin, but ate it. "_I thought it didn't absorb processed materials? Wait..._" Naofumi resisted the urge to smack himself. "_I'm expecting legendary weapons in a fantasy setting to not contradict at some point._" It was a moot point, he wasn't going to complain about the unlocked shields until it started becoming a problem.

**Type****: ****Silver Shield****  
Requirements:****Absorbing Processed Silver****  
Bonus: ****10% Damage reduction from Demons.****  
Special Effect****(s)****: ****None**

**Type: Coin Shield  
Requirements:Absorbing Currency  
Bonus: Drop Rate Boost (Small)  
Special Effect(s): [Coin Shot]**

Finding the merchant streets was easy, finding the nearest blacksmith was easier. The giant sign made with a sword crossed shield was kind of a dead giveaway. "_Oh no, how will I ever find it._" The door swung open easily giving view to a campaign's worth of cutlery and the armor to go with it. "Oh… This is nice." he muttered, enjoying the sight of all those nice and shiny shields ready to be scanned and added.

The bald and scarred man behind the counter had a comforting and practiced grin. "Welcome!" he greeted, "Is this your first time here?" he asked jovially, as he leaned onto the shop counter, "What are you looking for?"

Naofumi let the sack drop into the counter with a padded thud and the sound of coins clinking. "Lets start with a coin sized sample of every metal you work with, and start from there." Naofumi's greedy grin would send a devil packing.

For the next hour the shop owner was more than happy to bring slivers of metals, and watched the Shield suck them into the gem with fascination. Each had to be softened so a small amount could be cut off, but Naofumi didn't mind the wait.

**Type: Wood Shield  
Requirements: Absorbing Wood  
Bonus: Lumbering Techniques I  
Special Effect(s): None**

**Type: Rock Shield  
Requirements: Absorbing Rocks  
Bonus: None  
Special Effect(s): None**

**Type: Iron Shield  
Requirements: Absorbing Iron  
Bonus: +10 Def  
Special Effect(s): None**

**Type: Copper Shield  
Requirements: Absorbing Copper  
Bonus: Smelting Ability I  
Special Effect(s): None**

**Type: Steel Shield  
Requirements: Absorbing Steel  
Bonus: Def +20  
Special Effect(s): None**

Naofumi almost shivered with excitement, and was pretty sure the shield _did_, however, that was an irrelevant detail to the next step. "I want you to bring out your best three shields. The strongest, the largest, and the smallest." In return Naofumi got a tower shield as tall as him, a buckler that was the size of a dinner plate, and finally a solid round shield with a spike in the center. The look of amazement as the Legendary Shield scanned them with a green glow was new to both, and the fact that it changed shape each time was just as impressive.

**Form: Tower Shield (Quality: Masterwork)  
Requirements: Weapon Copy- Tower Shield  
Bonus: Defense +30  
Special Effect(s): [Total Cover]**

**Form: Round Shield (Quality: Masterwork)  
Requirements: Weapon Copy- Round Shield  
Bonus: Defense +30, Attack +10  
Special Effect(s): [Shield Bash (Greater)], [Defensive Spike]**

**Form: Buckler (Quality: Masterwork)  
Requirements: Weapon Copy- Buckler  
Bonus: Defense +15  
Special Effect(s): [Shield Bash]**

Naofumi was all smiles, "So how much do I owe you?"

The shop owner was generous, "Well kid, you didn't actually take the shields from me, so I'd say you only need to pay for the ingots." He laughed, "Or I would if you actually took the whole thing." He scratched his chin and the magnificent beard that covered it, "Let's call it a hundred silver, deal?" he held out a hand.

Naofumi slap-grasped the hand with a steady handshake, "Deal!"

The coins were pulled from the sack, dropping the weight slightly. "So, any other business for me?"

Naofumi's devil repellent grin was back in full force. "Do you make custom shields?"

The shop keeper's grin matched Naofumi's, and even added a bit of challenge. "It could be expensive."

"The king is footing the bill."

"Glad to hear it." the scarred merchant leaned on his counter-top, and slammed a sheet of parchment to the surface. "Let's talk details."

An hour of bickering, debating and passing ideas back and forth went by in what felt like the blink of an eye. The first of the shields was a heavy metal one, covered in spikes. It would take a few days to make and would chip over five hundred silvers from Naofumi's treasury. It was only with unrelenting bartering on both sides that it dropped to the price of four-hundred and eighty silver instead. Still a blow, but much more livable, if only by a little.

The second shield was much thinner. Made to cover the forearm and little else, it held a long _sword-like _spike at the end. Luckily the shop owner knew exactly what he was thinking of. "Sounds like one of those old dueling shields."

"Dueling shield?"

"About the size of the buckler, folded over like a flat-bread." the armorer explained, "Nobles use them more than the common folk. They're too frail to take to a real battle. I can put one together in a day for twenty silver."

Naofumi's excitement went flat. "You just want to push it back to five hundred don't you."

The merchant was unrepentant. "Yup."

Naofumi shoved over the five-hundred silvers with an equal amount of harmless grumbling.

"Now is there anything else I can do for you today, dear customer?" the old man asked, still grinning.

"You're determined to bleed me for as much coin as you can, aren't you?"

"Why, dear customer, would I ever do something like that?" The sarcasm was thicker than the plate mail he sold, Naofumi was sure of it.

"Nothing for now..." a stray thought crossed the Shield Hero's mind. "_It will be worth it."_ he told himself, "_It will be worth it!_"

The shield never felt as heavy as it did now. "Actually," Naofumi said slowly, "I'll give you a few silver if you can point me to three places and be discrete about it?"

It was an odd request, "Sure, what do you need?"

Naofumi looked around, making sure that nobody else was around to hear him, "The best local apothecary, a quality inn and..." Naofumi checked again, and leaned closer, "a place in town were I can find a man to sleep with?"

"What?"

**000000**


	5. Day of Fate

**Some Gifts for the Shield Hero**

**Chapter Five – Day of Fate**

Back in his first life, or rather, his first world, Scientists had discovered numerous benefits to cuddling. It was said to improve sleep, could reduce anxiety, and released oxytocin in the brain. Which would ease chronic pain and reduce heart risk.

Naofumi was mostly looking for excuses as to why he woke up feeling more refreshed than when he went to sleep in a royal bed. "_Then again… this was my first time just sleeping with someone… in either life._" he admitted to himself, "_I just wish it wasn't with a hooker._"

Already the timeline from the book was derailed. He had been lying awake in his rented bed for at least an hour, or at least what felt like an hour. "_So far, no guards are busting in my door._" beside him, his partner was still snoozing. The Shield Hero was too nervous to sleep in, "_I'm actually kinda jealous._" It wasn't the fact that his current bed-mate was still soundly asleep. It was more the fact that his bed-mate was currently hugging an empty wine bottle.

Naofumi wondered if it had to do with his bullshit level defense and Constitution stats."_Maybe I can't get drunk anymore?_" Naofumi paused mid-ponder. "_That hurts my soul… Why does that hurt my soul?_" Deep morning revelations and worries about impending rape accusations aside, Naofumi just didn't like to admit a lurking love for a brew or two and the relaxing feeling he got when he was inebriated.

But enough about Naofumi's once-upon-a-time impending alcoholism, its just him getting side-tracked from hopping out of his borrowed brothel bed and hitting the town.

With the most reluctant of efforts, he left the warmth of the bed, stretched, pulled on his clothes, "_I need to get something besides the same outfit..._", and paid the brothel matron on the way out. Nothing but the clothes on his back, the rings on his fingers, a questionably controlling shield on his arm and a growing feeling of impending doom in his gut.

"I wanna go back to bed..." he bitched.

In the book Naofumi was found at a local inn, and arrested by the guard and paraded in the town like a criminal. Not willing to risk it, Naofumi decided a tavern meal wouldn't do for breakfast. "_Local market it is then._"

The farmer's markets were packed, even so early in the morning. Lacking the deluge of coin that he possessed the prior day, Naofumi fed himself with a jug of fresh juice, a few apples, and some beef skewers. From there he sat back on a bench and watched the people go by, eating his meal and waiting, a tune from his old world coming to mind.

Meal finished, he started wondering around the market, singing softly under his breath, "Feel it drawing nearer, an endless fear that takes you hold..." Naofumi suspected that his new stats were somehow tweaking his tenor to a more tender sound, "Feel it getting closer, revealing such an evil soul..."

The Shield hero wasn't going to admit that the singing was uplifting his spirits, nor was he going to admit he was enjoying the intrigued looks he was getting. "I can't surrender at the turning point of destiny! Right now it's do or die; my life is on the line and I will not flee! By my Power!"

"Whoa~whoa, it's clear to me!" Okay, he was getting really into it. Don't sing-shame him. "My spirit grows and I will face this demon!"

Singing has been shown to relax frayed nerves. Give him a break.

"Whoa~whoa, with burning energy!" He sang even louder.

Never mind, hes just being reckless now. "The day of fate has fin'ly come!" Naofumi sang joyously, ignoring the guards who had spotted the song spewing hero.

The guards gathered more of their number as Naofumi persisted in singing like an idiot, smiling and drawing attention to himself in what appeared to be a very stupid idea. "Whoa~whoa, can't hold me down!" he proclaimed, his shield transforming and darkening from a light silver to a much more mottled gray, "No doubt left in my mind, I will not fall here! Whoa~whoa! Prepare to hit the ground!" a more observant guard noticed him look right at them as Naofumi sang his last line a mocking grin on his face; "I'll turn your laughter into fear!"

"Shield Hero!" an advancing guard bellowed, "You are under arrest for suspicion of sexual assault!" the people around them began to murmer.

Naofumi forced his smile away as he did his best to project a look of panic, "What! Prostitutes are illegal!?" Naofumi yelled just as loud. This really got the town's folks attention.

The chatty guard didn't notice the trap he was running into, or the looks a few of his men gave him to think before speaking, "You are to report to the king and face the accusation of rape!" he yelled angrily.

Naofumi waved his arms wildly in denial, "What! No! He was a whore I hired at the Velvet Pearl!" the hero protested.

More than a few men in the crowd looked uncomfortable, the place was a favorite pastime. If it was now illegal to hire a whore, they were all doomed to the dungeon. More than a few of the fair women folk got just as uncomfortable. The Velvet Pearl wasn't the only brothel in town, just the highest quality that served all sorts. The idea that getting an itch scratched by a paid stranger was now a crime did not sit well with the silent majority.

The guards grabbed Naofumi, who didn't struggle. "Come along now!" they demanded.

Naofumi could hear the concerned chatter from the townspeople. More than a few mentioned spreading words of warning. "_If this world is anything like Earth, then this might work after all..._"

**000000**

The King, a number of guards, the heroes and their companions were all gathered as Naofumi was dragged into the throne room and tossed to the ground before them. Apart from Ren and Itsuki, all of them looked disgusted at the sight of the Shield Hero.

Naofumi didn't give them a chance to strike first, he didn't rise up, he kept his head bowed and clapped his hands together as if bowed, "I'm sorry!" he yelled quickly, "I didn't know hiring whores was against the law!" he looked up to see the faces of everyone switch to confusion.

The king was the first to recover, "That is not why you're here!" he roared, "You are here before us, accused of rape!"

Now Naofumi was on his feet, "That's a lie! I paid and everything!"

If anything the king was getting more enraged, "The moment I laid eyes on you, I knew you would bring nothing but trouble!" he proclaimed, just as dramatically as ever. The hand and outstretched finger was a nice touch. "You Fiend!" he spat, "To not only to rape a woman, but now insist that you paid her!"

"What woman?!" Naofumi yelled back, "I wasn't with a woman last night!"

The redhead from before stepped forwards, all heaving sobs and light tears, "It was at the Inn on main street…" she began, "I was drunk, and entered the room of the shield hero last night!" She said, "And he… he forced me down… and..." she let out a heavy shuddering sob, It sounded more like laughter to Naofumi, "I was so frightened I screamed! And Lord Motoyasu came to my aid!" she stepped back and covered her face with her hands, whimpering all the while. Naofumi noticed the tears had dried up.

"That is total bullshit." Naofumi defended, "You can ask the madam at the Velvet Pearl! I was there all night!"

"You all heard her! She was drunk!" Motoyasu countered, "He could have assaulted her there!"

"I was with a hired whore last night!" Naofumi insisted, "Talk to the woman in charge of the Pearl!"

"So you do admit to molesting a woman last night!" Motoyasu insisted.

"No, I didn't!" Naofumi's temper was rising.

"You just admitted to hiring a whore that means you were with a woman!" The spear hero accused.

"_He. Had. A. Penis!_" Naofumi was yelling to the heavens at this point.

Almost everyone in the room subtly, or not so subtly looked at the Redhead's pelvis. The chatter of the room had gone deathly silent.

Motoyasu was poleaxed to the point his brain was broken, "What?"

Thankfully the raised temper and flushed completion was enough to pose as embarrassed, "I went to the Velvet Pearl looking for a man." Naofumi explained, crossing his arms and looking away. "I paid the madam, met the guy and was there all night. I left the brothel this morning, I even talked to the matron. She can vouch for me."

Motoyasu shut up, if he pushed the story any harder it would shatter like glass under a hailstorm. The King was not as smart. "The attack could still have taken place in the afternoon!" His royal bitchiness insisted, "Can you still prove your innocence?"

"Yes I can!" the Sheild Hero barked back, "I was at a blacksmiths till sunset, I was asking him for a custom order. Two specialized shields!"

"Wait a moment..." Itsuki cut in, his expression was coated with confusion, "You already have your shield, why did ask for two more?"

Naofumi gestured to the gem, "While I was at the blacksmith's shop, I discovered a new power of the shield, when annother type of shield is placed in front of it my shield copied its form." The legendary shield switched from bucker, to round shield, to the giant tower shield. "See! If you send someone to the shop with the giant shield and sword sign on the front, he should have the designs for the new shields as proof!"

Itsuki walked to Naofumi's side and nodded to him, "I believe you Naofumi."

Ren nodded and stood beside itsuki, "I do too."

The three looked at their wayward friend, "Like anyone _else_ is going to believe a thing you say you damn rapist!" Motoyasu stated, pointedly looking away.

The King was no less pleased, in fact he looked slightly taken aback. "I...I want to believe the accuser. We shall wait as evidence is gathered." a dozen or so guards were called forth and sent out to check Naofumi's statements.

**000000**

The schism in the room was made more apparent with who everyone choose to stand, the guards and companions were scattered around the throne room Their leaders stood in two groups. Motoyasu, the redhead and the King all stood together. Itsuki, Naofumi and Ren were together as far away as they could.

Naofumi sat with his back against the wall, his shield in a reflective-silver buckler form, and was looking at the room with half-lidded eyes as his mind was back to running with every possibility he could consider. "_I think I'd be royally fucked if I didn't have the wisdom ring._"

"I can't believe Motoyasu is taking their side..." Itsuki looked genuinely upset at Motoyasu's betrayal.

Ren snorted, "I'm don't. He's the type to ruin relationships for others. He admitted that he was killed for it." Ren's hand drifted to his sword's grip, "My question is why. What does he gain from this?"

"Most likely influence or political power." Naofumi answered idly, mind still supercharged and running wild, "Judging from how close he is to the king, there is a chance he was offered a substantial bribe to ruin me."

"Are you serious?" Itsuki questioned, a mild panic coming in, "What if they try to do the same thing to us?"

Ren sneered, and his grip tightened on his sword.

"I doubt it," Naofumi assured them, "Think about how distant they were to me, then how they acted towards the three of you. I think this was planned from the beginning."

"Then why summon all four of us?"

"Maybe they didn't want to? Summoning a Shield Hero could have been an accident on their part."

Naofumi opened his eyes entirely, he could hear a commotion in the halls, "I don't know yet, but I'm not fond of the idea that a king wants to set me up."

The doors to the throne room weren't opened by the guards, they were blasted open by a violent wave of wind. "_Aultcray Melromarc! What in insanity's name do you think you're doing!_" The matron of the Velvet Pearl boomed, storming in like the avatar of a furious god. Beside her stood two escorts coated in elaborate full-plate armor and their violet surcoats covered with golden embroidery.

For once the king lost all his bluster, "L-Lady Violet, how pleasant to see you."

The Matron was dressed in fine fur robes to hide her plump figure. A number of jewels decorated her neck, ears and fingers. The fact that the king addressed her with fearful respect demonstrated he political pull. "_It looks like she'd trade that all away for a chance to throttle the king here and now..._" Naofumi thought.

"Why am I hearing that your banning prostitution?" She demanded, "The capital is buzzing like a kicked hornets nest from Eastgate to the slums, everyone talking about how your guards pulled the Shield Hero from the streets for visiting my establishment!"

"I did no such thing!" King Aultcray protested, "He was accused of assaulting a girl and attempting rape!"

Naofumi's smile was making a comeback. "_You know, this isn't so bad when my ass isn't in the fire._"

"Horseshit!" The noblewoman spat, "On whose word did you send your armor clad thugs to harass a hero without proof? Men are avoiding the streets of every brothel in town, afraid that they will be dragged to the dungeons next! I want to know who is responsible for my profits being cut!"

Nobody missed the redheaded accuser moving to leave from a side door.

Neither did Lady Violet, "Princess Malty, where do you think you're going?"

Naofumi was back on his feet. "Princess?! She's my accuser!"

This time the room wasn't silent from shock, it was from _fear. _Lady Violet looked like she had sucked on a rotting lemon.

She faced the King.

There was a good chance he shit his pants.

"King Aultcray." her voice was sickening sweet, like decay in a summer heat, "Please tell me that the accuser was not Malty."

"Well...I..."

Naofumi had never seen someone shudder in anger before.

Lady Violet turned to the escort on the left, "You will ride out at once to the queen and inform Her Highness, Queen Mirelia that not only has the king summoned all four heroes, but is currently trying to frame the Shield Hero for rape on the advice of the disgraced Princess Malty."

Aultcray summoned what little spine he had left in him, "You can't do that!" he protested, "Guards, stop him!"

Lady Violet's glare halted any intervention, "If anyone tries to stop you… Kill them and blame it on the King." she added, completely uncaring. The Full-plate knight only nodded before running from the room. "Its nice to see someone do what they're supposed to." the matron quipped.

"You can't!" the king protested like a child, dropping back into his chair. If Naofumi didn't know any better he looked frustrated to the point of tears.

"You forget your place!" Lady Violet snapped back, "You are a figurehead! You only have what little power Her Grace gives you, and when she learns what has happened I have little doubt she will trust you with cleaning a diseased privy after this!"

The king went silent, having turned as pale as a waxy corpse.

"_Did he faint with his eyes open?_" Naofumi wondered, approaching the matron. "Uh, pardon me? Lady Violet?"

She gave Naofumi a wry glance, "I liked it better when you were referring to me as 'matron' this morning."

Naofumi smiled sheepishly, trying to avoid the topic, "So… If it's something you can tell me, why is it such a big deal that the princess accused me? Shouldn't that mean you trust her more."

Malty looked like she wanted to say something, only to shut up and pout when Lady Velvet glared in her direction, "Normally that would be the case, except that she has been disgraced."

"Disgraced how?"

"Do to her pulling malicious stunts like this plenty of times before and wasting coin from the treasury on selfish luxuries her mother has set her aside for her younger sister. She is not to inherit the throne except as a last resort. She wasn't even to receive a royal stipend, if it wasn't for the king spoiling her."

The princess in question looked humiliated, with everyone giving her new looks of ire and some of outrage. Motoyasu even looked betrayed, but thankfully kept his mouth shut.

Naofumi tried to keep his expression meek and not grin like a fool, "So does this mean I'm free to go?" he asked demurely.

"Yes, yes, now go." Lady Violet made a shooing motion, "The four Heroes and their companions can leave, our King and Princess will remain. I have to... remind them... of their positions in life."

Naofumi could hear the enraged bellowing of Lady Violet even outside the castle.

He pretended the gusts of wind were just his imagination.


	6. Party Planning

**Some Gifts for the Shield Hero**

**Chapter Six – Party Planning**

The biggest problem with knowledge of the future is that once it has been used up, you're back to being blind.

After a celebratory drink or two with Ren and Itsuki, the heroes went their own way again. Both Itsuki and Ren had planned to go monster hunting, still needing to get used to their weapons. While they were glad Naofumi wasn't punished for a crime he didn't commit, they were all thrown off schedule. Deciding that he should at least try his hand at fighting solo led to Naofumi facing his first foes in the plains just south of the capital.

The Orange Balloons.

With his abysmal attack power, the hovering pests could take several hits before they would pop. That wasn't what made them an almost literal pain in the ass. It was the fact that once he popped one, the rest of them took it as a challenge. Like Ninjas in a bad eighties action flick, the balloons swarmed, and while their fangs were sharp enough to pierce soft armor, to Naofumi's mystically enhanced flesh they felt more like a determined poke. Some of them even floated away whimpering, their fangs visibly chipped, "Neat… Come get some you condom-skin crap-heads!" he taunted.

Incensed, the Orange Balloon swarm charged the shield hero with a battle cry that could be loosely translated as _"Tear the bitch apart!"_ Naofumi may have been capable of taking them on one by one, maybe a few in a pinch. Against a horde as numerous as a playground ball pit, he was rather helpless.

They swarmed around him, biting and nibbling where they could. Some even clamped down and tried grinding their fangs into his flesh.

All of it did diddly poop.

Buried under the most no-homo avalanche of balls he had experienced in either of his lives, Naofumi could only pout and squirm. "Having no attack power sucks..." he bitched, as another balloon took a bite of his hair, "Seriously if you little shits leave spit in my hair I swear I will defile your graves!"

It didn't take long for the Shield Hero to be sick of the dog-pile. His shield switched to the round form, the spike giving him some offensive power. "Get the fuck off!" he roared, giving a dozen of the things a mighty backhand. They popped, and a screen popped up in turn.

**Exp 12**

"Oh you can just take a place at the least nibbled part of my ass." he spat with some exasperation.

A dozen of their numbers down was not enough to discourage the swarm, and the persisted in their reckless assault. It was do or die for the orange pests, and they were determined to avenge their friends who had been lost to the Humans. Naofumi didn't give less than a shit, more determined than ever to just smack the annoying balloons with the shield. Alas, the Balloons were being pushed out of the way by the soft winds each swing of the shield created. The more wildly he would swing, the more he just pushed the pests aside.

He pulled up the screens and the shield forms tree. "There has got to be something here..." he muttered, as another balloon bit onto his head. At this point they were biting his legs, his arms, one was even chewing on his butt. But most importantly, they were somewhat inconveniencing him, and for that they had to die.

It took a minute or two of impersonating a lumpy balloon man, but eventually a question popped into Naofumi's head and required use of the Inquiry function "What's the difference between Shield Types and Shield Forms?"

**Answer: Shield Forms are the various makes and models that the shield can base itself off of. Shield Types are the various powers and abilities that can be added to a Shield Form to enhance its value.**

Naofumi blinked, "Just to be clear: does that mean I can change the shield into a specific form, then add a type to it at the same time?"

**Answer: That is correct.**

Naofumi looked at the shield on his arm. With a thought the round shield began to glow with a soft white light, now enhanced by the power of the Virtuous Shield type. He felt stronger and more powerful than before.

**Combination: Virtuous Round Shield  
Requirements: Weapon Copy – Round Shield, _?_  
Bonus: All Stats +1000%, Spell Resistance (25), Attack +10, Bonus Damage to Evil  
Special Effects: [Shield Bash (Greater)], [Defensive Spike], [Protection From Evil (Persistent)], [Holy Aura (Persistent)]**

Naofumi's wicked grin was back. "Oh fuck the hell yes."

With a mighty swing a powerful gust of wind ripped away from Naofumi, taking with it dozens of the pop-able pests. "Eat furious blessed shield you little shits!" Naofumi was having fun smacking the balloons. So much in fact, he didn't notice his experience counter or the fact that it seemed to have broken.

After a half an hour of wildly swinging a shield at balloons in the hopes of achieving blunt forced murder, Naofumi stopped to rest and finally spotted the now shattered counter.

**Exp 355,012**

**Congratulations! You've reached Level 20!**

"What. The. Fuck."

He blinked, careful not to dismiss the screen.

He rubbed his eyes.

He counted to ten.

He looked at the screen again.

"What. The. Actual. Fuck."

He looked at the shield attached to his arm, still glowing with the same wispy white light as before.

"Just how broken are you?" he whispered, breathless with awe.

**0**

**000000**

**0**

It was with great hesitation that Naofumi turned off the Virtuous shield and returned to town. As tempting as the idea of over-leveling and rushing for a potential level cap was, there were things to do. New shields to scan, money to retrieve, and judging from the grumbling in his stomach a filling meal wouldn't be out of the question.

The meal was the first on the list, being the closest and fastest to get to. Entering the first restaurant that looked like it would have some decent grub, Naofumi spotted the looks that he was getting. Those who looked loaded with coin looked at him with disgust. A few of the adventurer types looked at him more questioningly. One or two looked at him like he was a curious trinket. Or they were just eyeballing the shield on his arm, at this point the hero-in-training was more concerned about filling his gut than he was about the stink eye some strangers were giving him.

The waitress was kind enough, and was soon on her way to bring him a nice plate of roast chicken. Naofumi kept himself busy staring into the screens again, browsing the various shields and types that he could unlock.

The branching trees of skills, forms, types, and combinations seemed to go on for miles. With a sigh he closed the screen, hearing footsteps approaching and ready to eat. "_Getting this lump of metal to unlock all the way is gonna take a lifetime._"

"Oh hoh. Take a look at this." A voice said mockingly, "It doesn't seem like there's anyone eating with our hero, here."

"How about we become your friends, huh?" another added in.

Naofumi half-turned to see two of the adventurer types looking down on him, unpleasant expressions on both of their faces.

Food was on the way, and Naofumi had no time for jokers, "What do you want?"

"Don't be so rude," the taller of the two chided, "we just wanted to be nice."

"Define nice."

"Well we heard word around town about a pervert with no friends." The shorter one was sort-of tubby. Naofumi wondered if he'd make a better punching bag than the balloons. "We just wanted to offer a fellow scumbag some help."

"Define 'pervert'." Naofumi said through clenched teeth.

Tall boy leaned over, obviously trying to provoke him, "We heard you were called a rapist and to save yer' hide you admitted to layin' with one of the Pearl's butt boys." he grinned at Naofumi. "So which is it, you a sick fuck you likes to force yourself on girls, or do you per'fer to stick you dick in shit?"

Tall-boy quickly discovered the taste of untreated wood, as Naofumi kicked out his legs and guided his face to the table's edge with a grip on tall-boy's collar. "_Huh. Seems that as long as it isn't a direct attack my shit stats don't effect it._"

Judging from the bloody cut just above his right eye and the cringe inducing crack tall-boy wouldn't be able to help short and tubby from his impending beating.

"You weren't supposed to fight back!" Tubby protested in a panic, "We was told the Shield Hero can't fight back!"

Naofumi's angry glare became accusatory. "Really now? And who was it that told you that?"

"I can't say!" Tubby sputtered, and like his partner, Naofumi knocked him to the ground by kicking at his feet.

The legendary shield turned into the round shield again, and if anything the spike seemed just a little bit longer. A little bit sharper.

"You see this shield? The Spike on it?"

Tubby nodded, whimpering.

Now the Shield Hero looked down on him, "If you don't tell me what I want to know, I'm going to stab this spike into the center of your fat belly and then pay every man here a silver to give it a stomp until you tell me what I ask?"

Tubby looked ready to soil himself. "I don't know!" he pleaded, blubbering like a baby, "I really don't! He kept his whole self covered! He paid us a gold each to piss you off and said we'd get another coin another after you got mad and made a fool of yourself! Honest!"

Naofumi pinched the bridge of his nose with his hand. He was not giving whomever a reason to try and get him into trouble again.

"Just… just go. I'm hungry, I'm tired, and I'm not dealing with the trouble it would cause." he pointed at the tavern's door, "Get your friend and get out."

Tubby was all too willing to do so, dragging Tall-boy out by the arm, who was still holding his no doubt dented head.

Naofumi took his seat again, and dug in the second the waitress placed the plate of chicken in front of him. He gave her a silver for the meal and another four for the trouble he brought. After a thought he gave her one final coin and a request, "Can you bring me another chicken too? I'm really hungry." he asked, all innocence and smiles.

**0**

**000000**

**0**

The next stop was at the blacksmith's shop, who was more than happy to see him. After the restaurant bums, he was kinda glad to have at least one dependable friend that wasn't an asshole. Ren was nice but was such an arrogant prick at times, and while Itsuki was much better the was he was still a follower rather than a leader. Only two problems stood between Naofumi and a genuine friendship with the blacksmith shopkeeper.

First, the shopkeeper kept giving Naofumi sly looks and made little friendly quips about his now proclaimed love for man booty. But that wasn't the deal breaker, just really annoying.  
The Second issue, and much more pressing, Naofumi didn't know the shopkeeper's name and was now too embarrassed to admit it.

The newly forged dueling shield looked amazing, especially the spade-like blade that extended past the hand. The Shield scanned it without complaint.

**Form: Dueling Shield (Quality: Masterwork)  
Requirements: Weapon Copy – Dueling Shield  
Bonus: +5 Defense, +20 Attack  
Special Effects: [Parry], [Defensive Thrust], [Cut]**

"_I suppose that Cut would be a special ability for a shield… but still..._"

He didn't giggle at that. Regardless of what the blacksmith says, he did not giggle like a child when he spotted Cut as a special ability.

Really.

**0**

**000000**

**0**

The last on Naofumi's to do list was to retrieve a few things left at the Pearl. But before that, he had to pray that the matron was out on an errand or something, because he didn't wanna risk getting on her bad side.

Technically his show in the market was to blame for the current state of confusion in town, and the loss of revenue in the brothels that she chewed the king out for.

It was with great stealth that he approached the brothel this time. Ears ever alert for Lady Violet and eyes watchful for even the slightest glance of her wardrobe.

The Street that the Velvet Pearl was built upon was empty. Empty and ominous. Naofumi could hear the faintest thump his shoes made as they touched the cobblestone. His heart was thundering in his chest. Every faint breeze sounded like a ghostly moan, warning against entering her domain.

The moment Naofumi crossed the threshold into the Pearl the terrifying aura was dispelled by the cheerful chattering of girls at play, a gentle melody being played by a musician at the back wall, and a polite greeting call from the bartender.

Naofumi let himself relax.

An almost fatal mistake.

"Lord Naofumi, how pleasant to see you again."

It could be a good thing that everyone believed him to be gay, because at that moment Naofumi was certain that his asshole could turn coal to diamond.

"Lady Violet, I'm so happy to see you."

One dainty eyebrow arched, "Really?" she said coyly, "Now here I thought you were worried I was going to keep your balls and your coin." she tossed him the over-sized sack that held his remaining funds.

Naofumi tested the weight for a moment, "Did you already take your cut?"

"As agreed, fourty-nine silvers and not a coin more."

Naofumi quickly counted out another fifty, "Here," he handed over the small pile, "As thanks."

She took the coin with a smile, "So nice to have a customer that appreciates my services."

Naofumi's eyes drifted to the floor. "Well, I feel I owe you for this morning."

"How so?"

"I only expected you to need to say I was at your establishment." Naofumi shrugged, "I didn't expect you to come tearing into the castle like that..." his brow furrowed, "Also, how come you could do that?"

Lady Violet smiled pleasantly at him, almost like a cheerful warning, "How could I do what?"

Naofumi felt another lump in his throat, "How could you berate the king like that? I don't mean to be rude, it's just where I come from, if we were to question and berate our rulers like you did it would be nothing but trouble."

Lady Violet laughed, it was a pleasant enough sound, even if it did make her plump parts jiggle slightly, "It's big a deal. The Queen is a cousin of mine. Not close enough to inherit, but I'm tied to her by blood. Unlike the seed sack she calls her husband. He's the type to play politics and look for more power. I'm content as long as I can have a glass of wine every night and a man to scratch my needs. Between us which do you think Her Highness is more likely to believe?"

"You, I hope?"

"Smart lad." She complemented coyly. "Now, I don't know what's gotten his jewel covered ball-sack in a knot, but be wary of Aultcray. He may pull another stunt, to soothe his wounded pride if nothing else."

"What about the Princess?"

"I presume you mean Malty." Lady Violet frowned, more than a little disgust marring her appearance, "She will try to cause you grief in the future." She snapped her fingers, and a server came quickly with a tray and two large glasses of wine. Lady Violet took the drink and immediately took a good gulp of it. Naofumi declined the offer.

"I don't know how such a devil child came from my cousin's bloodline." She gave a disappointed sigh, "I suppose it's like dog breeding. No matter how much you control, once in a while you get a rotten bitch."

Naofumi snorted, trying to hold in some undignified laughter. "Oh, that is a perfect name for her."

Lady Violet found the laughter infectious, "Yes, I suppose it is."

After a moment of giggles, Naofumi had one more question. "So about my… um, special request?"

The noblewoman brushed him off, "Yes, yes, that was taken care of as well. Your playmate last night has been telling everyone who will listen what a beast you were. I'm quite surprised there haven't been any women trying to persuade you to change ways."

"So he's been convincing?"

"Lord Naofumi," she said seriously, "I have had several girls in my employ ask to be informed of your arrival because of your boasted progress."

"Oh."

Oh Indeed.

**0**

**000000**

**0**

As the sun began to wane and set, Naofumi was still walking the streets. Mostly out of boredom, but also because he had yet to pick a place to make his home base. A few of the Inns looked nice, and would make a decent temporary base. He was tempted to ask for a permanent room at the Pearl, but the blow to his reputation would be a bit much. As is he was already uncomfortable with the wide range of not so unnoticed looks he was getting.

Whispers of him being some sort of sexual deviant were running rampant, others saying that the king was after his head were also abundant.

The one about him having a flesh piston just confused him.

"You look lost in thought young man..."

Naofumi jumped, startled, and turned to a man who was leaning out of a shady alleyway, "Who are you?" the hero demanded.

The stranger was short, and dressed in luxurious clothes, with a top hat and collar of thick feathers. "Just someone offering assistance." he said simply, an act to help Naofumi to relax.

Naofumi's shield arm tensed slightly, "I take it your another person here to offer to be a comrade."

The well dressed stranger chuckled to himself, "Better than that. 'Comrades' are such a fair-weather idea." He bowed submissively, "What I offer you is not a trick. After all, my business is built on trust."

"And what business is that?"

"You are the Hero of the Shield, yes?" He asked, avoiding the question, "The people have been speaking all day about how a hero with deviant tastes was almost falsely accused and framed by the Spear Hero and his… ahem, noble, companion." He stood straighter, with a malicious smile revealed. "Am I correct?"

Naofumi was now curious. "_The only detail that isn't running around town is that it was Princess Malty that accused me._" The small shield on his arm darkened as the _Weaponbreaker_-type was equipped. "All right. Lets see your business then."

The stranger led him down the alley and across a maze of alleys, roads, and hidden paths. Minutes passed without another word said between the two. It wasn't long before Naofumi could see a red and white tent set up, hidden between four tall buildings that blocked sight from the main roads.

The stranger walked to the tent and pulled open a flap, standing aside for Naofumi to enter. "I'm sure you'll be a wonderful customer." The stranger assured him.

Inside were dozens of cages. Most were feral demi-humans, each lacking life in their eyes. Naofumi looked at the lot of them with pity. Most hissed or growled as he entered, some reached out of their cages in a pointless effort to slash at him. Others backed away as if wary or afraid.

"You sell slaves."

"I have more demi-humans than anything else. But yes, I sell slaves."

Naofumi gave him a weary glance. "And slavery is legal?"

"Of course not!" the stranger mock protested, "In the lands of Melromarc, keeping humans as slaves is a crime."

Naofumi's eyes narrowed, "Cute. I take it from the way you worded that…" He took a deep breath, and let it out slowly to calm down, "So slaving is fine, provided that its not human. Fine."

"Do not worry dear customer, I also keep a fine stable of beasts. Is there anything in particular you wish to see."

Naofumi swallowed his disdain, _"I don't have enough power to free them now." _He glanced at a scarred wolf-man, "_Play nice for now, free them later._" Naofumi purposefully looked at all the beings around him, "Do you have any monster wolves?" he asked.

The well dressed slaver led him to a larger cage, covered by a heavy tarp. Inside was a wolf man, this one still had life in his eyes.

"How is he?" the slaver asked, "doesn't he look wonderful?"

Naofumi rolled his eyes, "Don't bother with the pitch. You know full well I won't have the coin to buy him, you're just showing him off to get me eager. Show me what is more in my price range."

The slaver's ever present grin never twitched, "Of course my lord. It's so nice to see a customer with such a keen eye." He started walking down another aisle of cages, "What kind of product are you looking for?"

"Not expensive, not broken, not a sex slave. Good at combat and tracking." Naofumi said bluntly. Getting all the annoyance for queer tastes was bad enough. There was no way he was going to give anyone a chance to say he had worse...desires.

The slaver nodded with a knowing look. He lifted another canvas flap at the end of the aisle, revealing a smaller room in the tent. "In this room you will find the lower priced goods that I offer." He stood by the 'doorway', "Please, take your time."

The room reeked of decay and sickness. In much smaller and cramped cages were a number of beaten and downtrodden creatures. "_This is depraved._"

Naofumi was ready to turn and demand to leave when he heard the cough. It was a soft noise, easily mistakable. It was rough and weak, with just enough of a rasp to it that one could hear the pain that lingered every time the noise was made.

But worst of all, it sounded like a child's cough.

Naofumi approached the cage, kept separate from the others. It was covered, no doubt in a half effort way to prevent disease. Without worry or care he pulled the tarp and pulled it off.

Inside was a young girl, meek and broken.

Naofumi knelt down. "Can you raise your head for me?" he asked gently.

The empty look in her eyes almost broke his heart.

She was covered in filth and dressed in rags. A set of chains hung around her wrists and neck.

"_This is wrong._" Naofumi didn't stand, he didn't turn away, he only asked softly, "What's your name?"

She hesitated, with either reluctance or fear, he couldn't tell.

He reached past the bars, and gently stroked her hair. "It's okay now." he reassured her, "I just wanted to know your name."

"Raph… It's Raphtalia." she answered.

"Compared to the fox species, the raccoon-folk are not well liked." The slaver spoke up, "they succumb easily to panic and disease."

Naofumi turned, the look he gave was more than enough reason for the Slaver to go silent.

He turned back to Raphtalia, his eyes just as kind as before, "Do you want to come with me?" he asked.

It took her a moment to answer, and so softly he almost didn't hear it. "Yes..."

Naofumi finally stood. "She's coming with me."


	7. How to Level Up a Loli

**Some Gifts for the Shield Hero**

**Chapter Seven – How to Level Up a Loli**

Childcare was a new experience for Naofumi.

The process of buying a slave was simpler than expected and just as unpleasant as one would think. Especially the transfer of ownership. Hearing a child scream in pain made him squirm, no matter how temporary. Knowing it was because of a choice he made was doubly unpleasant. The message screen that popped up informing the hero that she was now his teammate was ignored. Once Raphtalia was his, Naofumi wasted no time bringing her to the blacksmith's shop in search of clothes.

The blacksmith was surprised to see his most rambunctious customer, especially so late in the afternoon. He was more surprised at the sickly raccoon-girl at the hero's side. "Kid?"

"I found her at a slave house." Naofumi explained bitterly, "I couldn't just leave her there."

"Why bring her here?"

"I'm not letting her wear these rags a moment longer than she has to. Can you show me where the clothes are?"

The shopkeeper lifted a heavy hand and pointed at an easily missed rack in a back row.

Naofumi knelt next to the little girl at his side, "Can you go pick out some clothes that you think look pretty? Please?"

Raphtalia nodded, and went to look at the selection of clothes. Naofumi marched up to the blacksmith, and was failing to keep the storm of mixed emotions in check. "That place is just horrible."

The shopkeeper was awkwardly sympathetic, "I heard there was a group in town, but I thought it was a rumor." He tried to give the younger man an apologetic smile, "I'm sorry you got a glimpse of Melromarc's darker half."

"I can understand keeping slaves if they were pure monsters." Naofumi calmly admitted, "But the beast-people… Its just not right. They were sitting in filth, dozens of them had gone feral or were broken…"

"That's just how it is kid. Slavery is supposed to be illegal, but so many spotted the way the proclamation was worded and used the hole to get what they want."

"So there's no chance that I can get the guard to shut them down?"

"I hate to say it, but no. If you didn't see a human slave, then you don't have the means to stop them."

There were thousands of swears, curses, and frustration fueled insults rippling across Naofumi's thoughts.

Thankfully they passed quickly as a small hand tugged on his sleeve.

Raphtalia stood at his side again, this time with a bundle of simple clothes in his hands.

Naofumi forced a smile as he crouched low, making sure he faced her with a grin, "Are those the clothes you want?" he asked.

She nodded.

"Is there a changing room?"

"It's right beside the clothes," the blacksmith answered, "It's only a booth with a sheet. Sorry."

Naofumi faced the girl again, "Do you want to go get changed?"

Raphtalia nodded.

"Okay, you go get changed to your new clothes, then come right back."

The little raccoon girl scampered off.

"You might make a decent caretaker for that girl."

"I hope so."

"So do you plan on bringing her to the battlefields with you?"

"I can't. It wouldn't be right to force her to fight for me."

"You can't just leave her in town either. I don't know what the King or Princess Malty have against you, but even I know that they'd go after the girl if they get the idea."

"So what? I should bring a ten year old slave girl to fight monsters?"

"You do know that she will mature faster when she gets experience right?"

Naofumi blinked, "Okay, I need context. Because there is no way that sentence made sense to me without being depraved."

The blacksmith gave him a sour look, "She has beast blood. She doesn't age like us. When she kills monsters, her body will take the accumulated experience and use it to quickly mature her body to peak performance. It's why her kind are so valued as slaves. They live longer, grow faster, and get stronger quicker."

Naofumi's expression was as flat as year old soda. "So you think I should help her by using the same system that caused her to be taken as a slave?"

"Look, she's gonna find herself in trouble anyways. At least if you teach her to fight she can protect herself."

Naofumi almost bit his tongue as he held back a waspish remark. "Fine. Can you pick out some weapons for her? A short sword, or dagger or something that she can keep a good grip on?"

"Keep an eye out for your girl brat, I'll be back in a minute." the shopkeeper teased.

"I think I liked it better when you were overly respectful and trying to gouge my coin purse!"

"The day's still young hero!" he shot back.

With some haggling, some friendly cursing, more haggling, less friendly but still good friendly insults, and finally acceptance that the sack of money he had was now filled with less than two-hundred coins, Raphtalia's equipment problems were sorted out. Her chosen outfit was covered in some leather padding, a traveler's cloak hung over her shoulders, and she now had three weapons to her name. A short sword, a spare dagger, and a concealable knife that she could keep hidden under the long sleeves of her outfit.

She looked like a mix between well traveled adventurer and adorable child who is over prepared for bunny hunting.

"She looks adorable." The blacksmith commented, busy counting his earnings.

Naofumi's eye twitched, he wanted to ignore the bait. He failed miserably, "And you looked pleased. Don't spend it all on one place."

"Don't worry, I won't."

Naofumi's grumbling could be heard as they made their way from the shop to the closest inn.

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The inn was nice enough, and renting a two bed room for a week was only ten silvers. The meals were of good quality too, the vegetables were fresh and the meat well cooked. Much to Naofumi's enjoyment the beds were almost as puffy as the ones in the castle.

The only problem with the room was the occupants and the awkward silence between them.

"So..."

The sole member of the Shield Hero's party sat listlessly on her bed. The look Raphtalia gave him was as weary as ever, with little emotion on her face. One might say her guard was fully up. She said nothing, and when Naofumi said nothing her gaze went back to the floor.

"_Ya know, this is just like every impulse buy I made in my last life." _He thought sarcastically, _"See something I feel a need to buy, buy it, take it home. Then have absolutely no idea what I was thinking._"

Naofumi sighed, pushing himself off his seat on the floor. Placing himself directly in Raphtalia's line of sight.

"So is there anything you want?" he asked.

She shook her head no.

"Anything you wanna do?"

Again, she shook her head no.

"Do farts smell?"

Raphtalia went to shake her head no a third time, then realized what her newest master said. A small look of confusion came to her face, and just the slightest sliver of life came with it.

Naofumi continued his efforts to keep her off guard, with the total lack of grace only an immature adult in college can create, Naofumi rolled up his sleeve and pressed his lips against the exposed bicep. With a deep draw of air, he made a fool of himself.

The resulting wet, sloppy, splattery fart noise was so loud it could be heard in the hallway.

Raphtalia tried to keep her guard up, she really did, but it cracked and she grinned. Then she smiled. When he could spot her reaction, Naofumi doubled his efforts. Adding a great glob of saliva to it ensured that anyone listening in from the hall would believe he shit his pants, he blew louder and harder than before.

Raphtalia's guard crumbled as the giggles began.

Naofumi leaned back to catch his breath and wipe the skin from his arm as Raphtalia giggled herself into wheezing. "Well, glad to see I can still make somebody laugh."

Winding down, Raphtalia tried to go back to guarded, something she found impossible as Naofumi looked at her with childishly crossed eyes.

"Thank you, thank you, we're here for a week!" he said with false bravado, keeping up the silly act with some playful bowing.

The playfulness ended quickly, Raphtalia's coughing making a comeback. No doubt from her idiot inspired giggles.

"Dammit. Sorry!" the hero appologized, "I forgot."

Raphtilia nodded, rubbing at her throat and staying silent.

"_I don't blame her, those coughs sound painful._" Naofumi gave his shield a look. "_Didn't one of those glitch shields have a healing power?_" It didn't take long for Naofumi to spot the shield form he was looking for.

The Legendary Shield's form shifted again, this time becoming an ivory colored clone of the basic small shield form. A number of dark sapphire veins decorated the edges and outline. The shield's master gave Raphtalia a hesitant look, "I'm still learning how to do this, so I am really sorry if I screw this up."

He raised the shield so it faced her, and commanded, "_**Heal**_!"

A soft blue glow washed over the young girl, wisps of white danced upon the dozens of scraps and cuts on her. Sunken eyes from countless sleepless nights softened. Luster returned to her dull dry hair, becoming vibrant and healthy once more. Even her skin regained some color. The girl squirmed and stiffened as the magic danced around her figure fixing whatever it found lacking. No more than half a minute passed before the spell faded, and with it went any signs of the raccoon girl's mistreatment.

"Holy shit!" Naofumi exclaimed, he glanced from his shield to Raphtalia and back again several times, "I expected that to be broken and all but holy shit! I just expected it to heal your cough and maybe fix whatever was making you sick! Maybe it's the fact that the Healer's Shield gives a bunch of buffs-!"

He was cut off by a cuddly cannonball smacking into him, and blowing him over. It took several moments to realize that Raphtalia was crying into his shirt, chanting her own little mantra of "_Thank you. Thank you. Thank you._"

He lay on the wooden floor trying not to feel awkward. "_Maybe I should pat her back?_" He was a college otaku with a lacking social life, you have to forgive his lack of what to do when a 'child is bawling into your chest' scenario comes up. Hopefully with time he will learn to deal, but for now, it's all new.

Raphtalia was greatful for the comforting, if the way she was clinging to his shirt was any indication. Feeling awkward, uncomfortable, and growing ever more snot and tear stained, Naofumi let her cry it out. It took almost an hour of her sniffling, with him comforting her with pats on the back or head and repeating comforting words to help soothe her broken spirit.

When she finally calmed down and just lay pressed against him, Naofumi sat up and kept her cradled to him as he worried that there was now a permanent imprint of his travel satchel in his back.

"There now… Feeling better?"

She nodded, still not pulling away.

"Come on, lets get you seated so I can switch shirts."

Raphtalia nodded again, and allowed Naofumi to lift her back to her bed. She returned to looking at the floor again as Naofumi changed into something not stained with a plate sized splotch of snot and tears.

Alas while the Ring of Epic Wisdom bestowed to him a much greater understanding of the world, it couldn't stop the wearer from still having the occasionally stupid thing to say. "So do you still want to be my slave?" he asked, completely missing the mood of the room.

The expression of sheer terror that came to the young girl's face shut him up right quick.

Thankfully he realized what that sounded like,"No, no!" he quickly corrected, "I meant I have another power that I think can break your curse."

His shield transformed again, becoming a pure white circle decorated with images of dozens of broken chains. "If you want I can free you."

Raphtalia clearly hesitated, covering her mouth with her hands, "You don't want me?"

Naofumi took a seat on his own bed, directly across from her. "I bought you in the first place because I didn't like the idea of leaving you there to die." He explained honestly, "If I could, I would have freed all of you. I don't have the money, and I'm not willing to bet I could take down all the hired muscle they would need before they put me in chains."

Naofumi let out a sigh, laying back and looking blankly at the ceiling, "I'm the Shield Hero… and I need companions to fight properly." he continued, "I don't think that it would be responsible of me to have you help me hunt monsters."

He sat up again. Naofumi's gaze dropped onto Raphtalia again. She no longer looked fearful, instead she looked at him with… determination?

"Hero of the Shield?" she said softly, "You're going to fight against the Calamity?"

Naofumi blinked, "I intend to do more than fight." He tried to smile confidently, "I intend to stop the Calamity." he said, completely serious.

"I want to fight." she told him earnestly, "I will make myself useful."

"_I suppose beggars can't be choosers._" He thought. "Okay then." He held up the Freeman's Shield and turned it to face her. "Ready?"

She pumped her arms and stood up, defiant, "Ready!"

"_**Curse Breaker**_!"

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The pair were up ready at the crack of dawn. The sun hadn't even finished rising when they reached the plains outside the capital. The Orange Balloons were already out in numbers reinforced by what could be charitably called bouncing eggplants and broken eggs.

Naofumi couldn't help an offhand comment, "You know, no matter how many times people tell me these things are dangerous demons, they still feel like a monster designed by a child."

Raphtila stood beside him her short sword already drawn and held in front of her. "They look kinda scary."

Naofumi gave her a side glance. "Really?" he shrugged, "All types I suppose..." he stretched out, still trying to relax the knot in his back from the prior night. "Okay, so the plan is this. I go in, I piss them off. I hold them in place, and then you stab them. Got it?"

Raphtalia looked at him like he was crazy, "Are you sure? Won't you get hurt?"

Naofumi grinned, "I'm the Hero of the Shield. These guys will chip their fangs before they can bite through my skin." he bragged.

The Shield Hero marched forward, completely brazen, "Oy! Ball brains!" he taunted, "Which one of you useless trash mobs wants to be first!"

Again, demonstrating an understanding of the spoken word, several of the 'dangerous' demons charged with fangs bared.

Just like last time, not a single attempt did more than press into the Shield Hero's skin. "It's okay Raph!" He held one of them with each arm. "Its an easy kill. Just make sure to put some weight into it!"

The little raccoon girl ran at them with a furious charge, and stabbed clean through two at once.

**Naofumi 1 EXP**

**Raphtalia 1 EXP**

"Wait a second? Didn't they give so much more before?" Naofumi looked at his equipement, especially the base form shield. "Oh right. Forgot to change you."

The shield switched with a thought, becoming a blessed buckler and coating Naofumi with the smokey white wisps of magic that was the signature of the Virtuous Shield. What caught both the party members off guard was the fact that the wispy white also covered Raphtalia.

"Woah!" She exclaimed, "This feels nice… It's like a great big hug."

Naofumi blinked. "_So the shield effects teammates too?_" The wicked grin came back. It was time to check if the game could be broken even worse. "Raphtalia! Quickly, stab another as hard as you can!"

The little warrior girl charged with an adorable growl, but alas, he stab wasn't any more powerful.

**Naofumi 1000 EXP**

**Raphtalia 1 EXP**

"Okay, I'm the last one who should complain about broken mechanics," he complained, "but why didn't She get a load of experience as well?"

Raphtalia frowned, "Did I do something wrong?" she asked.

"Not at all." Naofumi assured her, "The shield's magics are being weird. I thought for sure that would give you extra experience too." Naofumi thought for a second, "_I wonder..._"

The shield shifted again, never losing the virtuous wisps but rather transforming from buckler to dueling shield. Naofumi cruelly plunged the sword spike into a passing balloon killing it instantly.

**Naofumi 1000 EXP**

**Raphtalia 1000 EXP**

"Cha-ching!" Naofumi charged at the other pests nearby. "Wait right there Raph! I'm gonna get us some Level ups!"

The girl stood there awkwardly watching as Naofumi lay waste to the 'demon hordes' cackling and laughing as he demonstrated with aggressive glee that yes, a shield can be used as a weapon. Also taunting.

"Get back here you floating condom wrapper!"

Taunting was fast becoming his favorite pastime in combat.

"Come get some you whip tongued inbred eggplants!"

It seemed he had a habit of getting carried away with killing mobs with trash talking and stupidly broken shield powers.

"Don't you run away you sexually confused son-of-a jackrabbit!"

He may have had a few issues of his own to workout.

"I'll take you all on! I've seen more effort put into fucking me over by an impotent old man, a slutty bitch and a limp-dicked playboy!"

Okay, he had a lot of issues to work out.

An hour of venting later and another whopping load of experience gathered, Naofumi calmed down enough to stop his attempts at trash mob genocide.

**Naofumi ****368642**** EXP**

**Raphtalia ****368642**** EXP**

"Well, I feel so much better. What about you Raphtalia? Sorry I left you here..."

Naofumi looked around, Raphtalia wasn't waiting were he left her. More than a little panic got to him, "Raphtalia! Raphtalia! Where are you?!" he yelled.

He looked and searched.

His guilt only increased as he spotted the first scraps of cloth.

"Stupid! Stupid! So fucking stupid!" he scolded himself, "She's a kid, why did I think it was anything close to okay to leave her alone!"

The trail of ripped cloth and broken shoes led to a small grouping of trees. The ground was littered with wild bushes, any number of creatures could use it as cover.

"Raphtalia are you there!? Are you okay?"

For a moment, nothing.

Then a whimper.

"U-up here..."

Naofumi gazed into the tree branches.

A wild woman wearing the shredded remains of Raphtalia's clothes peered back at him.

Struck dumb, he said the first thing that came to mind. "Aren't those a little tight?" he asked.

"Lord Naofumi!" she exclaimed with embarrassment.

"Raphtalia!?" he sputtered.

"Yes! It's me!" she insisted, trying to keep her clothes from tearing anymore.

"What the fuck?!"


	8. The Mind of Motoyasu

**Gifts For the Shield Hero**

**Chapter Eight – The Mind of Motoyasu**

The human mind is capable of awe inspiring feats of self-discovery, rapid learning, or the visualization of conceptual entities that are beyond understanding. Then there are other minds that are flawed. These minds might be filled with false information, leading them to take actions that had they known the truth would be abhorrent to them. Then there are the brains filled to the brim with self-assured information. Minds that have to accept a false truth because to them, the truth is an absolute impossibility.

I speak of course, of the Spear Hero Motoyasu and his mountain like ego.

You see, Motoyasu had a problem…Well, in truth he has a dozen or more, all of which were self created. But nobody wants to read an epic length story about an irredeemable jackass who would condemn an innocent man for rape, all for the sake of sex and wealth.

No the problem I tell you about today is much smaller in scale, yet a terrifying idea to him.

Outside of his party, nobody liked him.

To him it was a world breaking paradigm shift. Every inn they approached always claimed to be full up. The moment he mentioned joining his party in public, the people around him would scatter like he was covered in shit. The various shops in town would still buy from and sell to him. Well, except for the bald blacksmith. The old man had taken one look at Motoyasu and his party and flat out proclaimed that he refused to do business with traitors like the Spear Hero. Even the local whore houses refused to accept him. Their thugs would block his way and sneer, telling him that he made the girls feel uncomfortable.

To his mind that was impossible. "_I'm Kitamura Motoyasu! Girls everywhere love me! I'm supposed to be the hero!_" He thought each time he was denied or denounced. The fact that three others shared his title didn't come to mind. The fact that he wronged one of those fellow heroes didn't cross his thoughts. This was supposed to be fun for him. He would fight monsters with his glorified pointy stick, get rich and famous. He would fuck girls for a time, then marry Princess Malty and be the next king.

That was supposed to be the plan.

Then Naofumi pulled all that way.

Motoyasu thought the same thing every time Naofumi came up. "_Fucking faggot rapist!_" he would seethe. Malty's plan was perfect. She had seen him and the perverted ways he looked at everyone. She had told him, convinced him, how it was only a matter of time until Noafumi struck. They had to frame him first. To protect everyone. It's what a hero would do.

But Naofumi didn't even keep it in his pants the first night there. The Spear Hero had heard all about Naofumi's sexual prowess. Every working girl in town loved to trade tales about what they heard from the Shield Hero's 'cuddle buddy'. By staying at the brothel overnight instead of renting a room at an inn like a decent person, everything got thrown out the window. He had proof of his location, people to vouch for his location, and even a love-struck man-whore who preached how Naofumi could pound butt like a holy smiting from on high.

It made Motoyasu sick with emotion. Not the fact that Naofumi was gay. Motoyasu wasn't a homophobe. It was two things; the fact that Naofumi was a free man and could continue acting on his perversions. The second was something that a team of wild horses couldn't pull from him. Motoyasu was jealous that so many in town wanted a ragged looking, scrawny nerd like Naofumi instead of a handsome and powerful stud like him.

It ruined his breakfast that morning. No matter how luxurious the meal, hearing a woman say; "Oh I would ride Lord Naofumi so hard it would turn him straight!" Completely destroyed any appetite. Beside him, Malty didn't fair any better. Every-time she heard someone talk about the Shield Hero in any nice way she would grind her teeth so hard it was a surprise they didn't break.

With morning preparations done, and some food in their bellies, the Spear Hero's Party made their way to the local bounty office. "_Perhaps some monster hunting will make me feel better..._" he had hoped.

They arrived with good timing, as two other heroes were already there, standing beside their own party members and picking out tasks for the day.

The pair were chatting with some lighthearted grins, "It looks like he's at it again." Itsuki remarked, "The scouts outside the city have seen a massive drop in the number of balloons floating about."

Ren rolled his eyes, "It would have been more impressive if he was slaughtering something besides those childish mobs."

"Yeah but the fact that he's been spotted swatting them down by the dozens with that-" Itsuki cut himself off as he spotted Motoyasu.

"Hey, Itsuki what's-"

"Oh! Hey, Ren!" Motoyasu trotted over to them like a puppy that didn't care it had rolled in roadkill. "You guys looking to farm some pocket money too?"

Ren's sneer of disgust was clearly visible and completely missed by the Spear Hero. "Motoyasu..." his hand moved not so subtly to his sword, something not even the dumb-ass missed. "What do you want?"

"Woah, woah! Whats with the sudden hostility?" Motoyasu asked jokingly.

"Sudden?" Itsuki pulled his bow and notched an arrow, "Do you think we'd forget what you tried to do?"

The Spear Hero put his hands up defensively, "Hey now! I never did anything to you two!"

There was a solid click as Ren's sword was drawn just the smallest amount, "What about Naofumi?"

Motoyasu dropped the playful protesting, crossing his arms with a frown. "What about him?"

"You set him up!" Itsuki accused.

"I did not!"

"We were there dumb-ass." Ren stated, quickly getting aggravated, "We watched the whole thing unfold. You and the redhead beside you lied to everyone."

"No we didn't. He's a deviant!" Motoyasu insisted, "I tried to do my duty as a hero and stop him!"

"By framing an innocent man?" Itsuki countered.

"Naofumi isn't innocent. He's a rapist!"

Ren wasn't buying it. "Who did he rape?"

"What?" The spear wielder sputtered.

"You called him a rapist." Ren pointed out. "Who did he rape? When? His location was accounted for. There is no victim, nor a time he could have done it."

"He's a pervert!" Motoyasu snapped back, losing his temper, "What do you care about him? Why would you defend him?"

"What's to stop you from doing the same to us?" Itsuki asked coldly.

"I...I..." Motoyasu had lost the argument, and he knew it. They all did.

Princess Malty grabbed her chosen hero's arm and gently tired to lead him away. "Lets go Lord Motoyasu, perhaps they will change their minds with time."

Motoyasu chose to believe her again, and had to put in some last words. "One day you guys will see what a monster Naofumi really is."

Ren looked Motoyasu in the eyes, absolute conviction in his words.

"I could say the same about you." The Sword told the Spear.


	9. Mining Town Mistakes

**Some Gifts for the Shield Hero**

**Chapter Nine – Mining Town Mistakes**

Most parental figures feel a sense of pride seeing the children they helped raise grow up and mature. Naofumi just felt… confused.

He had prepared himself for the burden of raising a young lady. He had intended to keep her safe, to raise her with good moral value. Three meals a day, plenty of fresh air and exercise. All the good stuff a proper parent should do. He even thought about searching for something to help her through her history as a slave. Heck if he had to he would have searched for some stupid miracle spell to ease her mind.

Now though? Raphtalia looked like a woman grown, and even weirder she acted like it.

The ideas of parenting went out the window, screaming all the while. It had been a little over a week since Raphtalia's speed leveling and time had not made the situation any easier. Especially with the habits she had apparently learned somehow.

She was a cuddle fiend.

Almost every morning since her transformation, without fail, Naofumi would wake up to a bed mate who hadn't been there when he fell asleep. This one clung to him like a lifeline, somehow having snuck into his bed and stolen half the sheets. It wasn't the cuddling that upset the Shield Hero, it was always waking to the feeling of cold feet. Today was no different.

Naofumi woke with a groan, a morning chill clinging to the exposed parts of his skin. Naofumi turned over, intending to nudge his charge into waking up, "Good morning…" he trailed off, a fast creeping flush on his face. "_Oh... That's a boob..._"

At some point in the night, Raphtalia's nightclothes had hiked up and exposed the flesh underneath. Naofumi was a true gentleman, quickly easing himself out of bed and gently pulling the blanket over her to conceal her exposed parts. With a fierce seriousness, he walked away and faced a support beam in the room.

THUD. THUD. THUD. THUD.

Raphtalia lay in bed with a fierce pout on her face. "_That didn't work either?_" Her hero had very high defenses indeed.

Mind cleared of impure thoughts, Naofumi prepared for today's task: Clearing out a mine and getting some samples while they were there. Apparently some monsters had been spotted running around the old mine, and the local village didn't want to risk the beasts making a nest inside.

Raphtalia's morning routine was slightly slower than Naofumi. She waited until he had left the room for breakfast before she hopped up and got dressed, cursing hormones and thick-headed noble heroes that were incapable of taking a very obvious hint. "Stupid body, stupid thoughts, stupid sexy sleeping Naofumi..." she grumbled, strapping on the last of her leathers.

Naofumi wasn't the only member of the party with problems. Thankfully his didn't have to do with a rapidly aged body flooded with growth hormones and no built up resistance. They'd never make any progress in their quest. Or leave the Inn for that matter.

As Raphtilia readied herself for the day, Naofumi was at the end of the hall having a crisis of conscious. "_What the fuck is wrong with you!_" he cursed out his penis, "_She's ten you sick fuck!_"

Remember folks, just because its acceptable and fine in a new world doesn't mean a lifetime of social conditioning from the past will instantly go out the window. Don't lewd the Lolis people, only villains do that.

After guilt tripping his libido so hard it was at risk of converting to Catholicism, Naofumi gathered a few plates of porridge and bacon. A second thought encouraged him to buy a basket of buttered rolls as well. They'd make some decent snacks later.

Naofumi made sure to knock before entering, He wasn't risking walking in on her changing again. Twice had been bad enough.

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Thankfully, or rather for the sake of Naofumi's ever decaying sanity, the rest of the morning was far less tiresome. A quick jaunt to the local general store for some rope, two rented pickaxes, and a few torches. Then a half hour walk to the mines. Naofumi spent the time browsing the screens again, examining the various shields and how to unlock them. Raphtalia spent the walk watching the wildlife and enjoying the fresh air and open space.

The mines in question were older than the village and it showed. The inside was more cavernous instead of the labyrinth of tunnels the two expected. Huge open areas were connected by tunnels that were barely taller than an adult human. The sound of running water echoed softly around them, most likely from an underground stream somewhere deeper within.

"My lord, look!" Raphtailia pointed at a set of bloody tracks running across a cart's rails.

Naofumi crouched beside the tracks, and illuminated them with his torch. "Dog prints?" He ran a finger over the mark. "No… bigger. Looks like it has longer claws too." He stood to face his partner, "Keep an ear out for clicking against rock."

"Clicking?"

"The floor is made of rock, with only a few spots where there is wood laying on top of them." Naofumi pointed out, "If that's the case, then we should be able to hear them when they're moving."

The pair made some decent progress over the next hour with Raphtalia digging while Naofumi stood watch, his dueling shield held moving in practiced motions. Occasionally Raphtalia would need a break, and would take a drink and rest while watching her master train with his legendary weapon.

More than once she had to hold a giggle as he made an outstretched motion. Either he was trying to bat aside the air, or he was trying not to get tangled in his cape. After her second break Raphtalia just had to know, "What are you doing Lord Naofumi?" she asked.

Naofumi paused and wiped the sweat from his brow, "I want to practice deflecting an attack."

"Deflecting?"

"You know...deflecting?" he made the odd motion again, "Knock aside an attack and leave the enemy open?" he looked like a puppy with a new toy… or trick in this case.

Raphtalia lacked the excitement, spotting a problem immediately, "Oh! I see," she said with some forced enthusiasm, "push the weapon out of the way and leave them open to a counter. That's kind of clever."

"Only kind of?"

"Well… Yes." Raphtailia admitted, "We fight monsters more than people… and that just seems like a move that would only be useful against someone coming at you with a weapon."

"I-I...Well, I guess you're right..." The Shield Hero looked a little flustered.

The flustered response made the lady suspicious. "Lord Naofumi, where… did…" the realization came to her swiftly. "You came up with the idea just to look cool didn't you." It wasn't a question as much as an accusation.

"M-Maybe..."

"Why?"

"I figured at some point or another I might have to fight someone with weapons." he weakly reasoned.

"So monsters are gonna stare using axes and swords?" She replied with no small amount of sass.

"They could. Or maybe one day I'll get to fight that jerk Motoyasu."

"So do you have a name for your defection attack yet?"

"Yeah, I was gonna call it the..." Naofumi paused and gave his partner a rather sour glare, "you're mocking me aren't you?"

"Oh no." She said sweetly, "I would never think about teasing my master."

"I'm not your master." Naofumi said flatly, "Now can you put away that sword of sass and go back to swinging the pick. If we can fill the sack with samples we could look forward to a couple of gold instead of another load of silvers."

Raphtalia didn't look so certain, "What about the monster dogs?" She asked.

Naofumi could hear the unease in her voice and see the hint of fear on her face, "Those are just a bonus." he boasted, "Seriously you're almost at level forty. What are a couple of dogs going to do?"

Raphtalia didn't answer, preferring to return to her digging.

**0**

**000000**

**0**

The day went by without much indecent, just some slippery rocks around the cave stream and other tripping hazards. The lack of beasts were concerning, but for all the pair knew the beasts had already made their way out. If only they were more genre savvy.

"Have we gotten enough yet?" Raphtalia asked, taking what felt like her thousandth swing. A sheen of sweat covered her skin and reflected the flickering torch light.

Naofumi pretended to not notice the appealing glow his partner was displaying, and busied himself with checking their bags of dug up plunder. "The bag's full of iron and the spare is quarter full. We probably could have stopped an hour ago." He admitted.

Raphtalia dropped the pick immediately. "Oh thank goodness." She plopped on her butt, hands reaching for the water again.

"Tired?" Naofumi teased.

She threw the empty waterskin at him, where it hit with a moist thud. "What do you think?"

"Was that a no? Because we could always-" he was silenced by a small rock being thrown at him. "You know that could hurt somebody right?"

Raphtalia was at full pout, complete with frown, "You could have taken some of the work too you know!"

Naofumi rolled his eyes, "I was looking out for monsters."

"You were flapping your arm and trying to look dramatic." she shot back, "I can fight against monsters too."

"And I told you, I'm not comfortable with that." Naofumi replied.

If anything Raphtalia's frown got less pout and became more frustrated. "Why? I can fight! I'm all grown up now!"

"You're ten years old."

"My body has matured! I have a woman's body now!"

"You're _Ten years old._"Naofumi insisted, "Look... in the world I came from, we didn't have beast people. Nobody aged like you did."

"So?"

"I know that here, people will see you a woman grown." Naofumi sighed, taking a seat beside her, "I guess I'm just having a hard time with the idea."

"But why? Don't I look like a woman to you?" The way she spoke had several meanings. More than several were ignored by the Shield Hero.

Naofumi's eyes locked with hers. "Raphtailia… When I first saw you, I saw a little girl needing help. Someone to be protected. Someone that _should have been _protected."

Raphtalia's protests were dying quickly. Her heart was too busy getting ready to burst, "_Is he finally going to say… _" she wondered.

"I bought you from the slaver intending to save you," Naofumi continued, "to heal you, and then to raise you. I was even prepared to shun my duties as a hero if it meant that I would do a good job supporting you." He looked at the shield on his arm with a sheepish look. "If I had known that forcing a level up on you more quickly would result in your childhood being stripped away, I'd have never considered it."

Raphtalia's heart was thudding in her chest faster than ever before. If he said anything more romantic to her she was going to jump his bones then and there.

Too bad he had to go and ruin it.

"I think of you like a daughter." He said in the most heartfelt, endearing way possible. Raphtalia didn't hear the rest. To busy dealing with the burst of disappointment and frustrations that had just burst instead of romantic passion.

The words echoed in her mind like a demonic mantra.

_like a daughter… _

_like a daughter… _

_like a daughter… _

_like a daughter… _

She was somewhere between hormone crazed and just a little bit past absolutely livid.

"What do you mean like a daughter?!" she shrieked, grabbing Naofumi by his collar and shaking him for all he was worth. "Do you have any idea what you've been doing to me?"

She pulled him face to face, making sure his eyes could see the passionate fury in her tearing brown eyes. "I have been trying to get you to see me a woman for _weeks_." she hissed, "I've tried little things, some flirty comments, maybe sit a bit closer than I should, I even tried to be playful and friendly and it doesn't work!" Her face was all a flustered mess at this point, "I even flashed you my-my-my…_breast_!" she hissed.

Embarrassed to hell and back she returned to whipping him back and forth. If it wasn't for his broken-power defenses his spine would surely have snapped. "Why. Wont. You. See. Me. As. A. Woman!?" She demanded.

Naofumi grabbed her wrists and stopped her attempts to throttle him. "I'm sorry." he said earnestly, "I didn't know this was bothering you that badly."

Raphtalia stayed silent, back to glaring and pouting, waiting for an explanation.

"I know you have feelings for me. I suspected anyways." He tried to give her a sheepish grin, "I'm not too good with girls. I never had any luck with them in my old life… and well. I just didn't want to be a bastard. Ya know?"

The young woman's glare was less intent and the pout severely reduced.

"I just thought you had a hero crush going on." he explained, "I saved you, and I just thought I would be no better than a monster if I was to take advantage of that."

"So you mean you do care?" Raphtalia asked eagerly.

Naofumi let go of her wrists, "I don't want to lead you on Raph. I care too much about you to just let you throw yourself at me, without caring about you the same way." he told her with all honesty.

Raphtalia sniffled, and tried not to let the tears go, "Is it because you're gay?" she asked.

The mood shift from heartbroken romance to comically outraged was so painful it hurt on a spiritual level, "_**What?!**_" he burst out, "No! No! No! It's not that at all!" He insisted, "If anything I-"

The mood shifted for a second time, this time dropping to a sense of startled dread. The sound of clicking and growls moved ever closer.

"Quickly! Grab a torch!" Naofumi ordered, shifting his off-hand armament to the dueling shield and holding the torch like a flaming club.

Raphtalia stood beside him, ears twitching inside her messy hair. The fearful look from before was back, and accompanying it was some noticeable trembling. She had yet to grab a torch or draw her sword.

The sounds were getting closer. Faster. The beasts were running to them. They were barking now, signaling the rest to join the charge.

"Raph?" Naofumi called, "Are you okay?"

She didn't reply.

"_Fuck! I can't guard her and fight back with the number I can hear coming!_" Naofumi tilted his head to listen behind him, keeping his eyes on the echo filled tunnels before him. Behind him the sounds of the underground stream and the cliff it flowed to. "Ugh dammit."

The sounds got closer and with it their chance that plan B would succeed dropped like a rock.

Staying was a risk Naofumi wasn't willing to take. He grabbed Raphtalia's arm with his free hand and pulled. "Run!" he yelled.

The chase took only seconds, but felt like an age to the hero. Raphtalia nearly stumbled as she remained trapped in panic, and the wild shaking of his torch provided a pitiful amount of light. There was no stopping to look at their map, or check for trail markers. Their only lead was the ever louder sound of running water.

Behind them the dogs were getting closer, now visible in the shadows behind them. Dozens of Two-headed hell hounds snapped their jaws at them, each mouth eager to feed.

The sight of the cavern waterfall at the end of the tunnel encouraged a brief moment to relax.

A mistake Naofumi shouldn't have made.

The first beast got him by the ankle, and pulled him from his feet. It was only a moment of instinct that let him shove Raphtalia forward, out of their reach. He kicked his attacker in the face, and shoved it away before conjuring the tower shield. The huge wall of metal was used by only the heaviest of knights to stop any projectile from piercing. A good tower shield was considered a near unbeatable defense in single combat. An Naofumi used it as a wall to block them from reaching his partner.

Leaving him trapped beside the beasts, who took great joy in trying to work their teeth into his flesh.

More than a few winced as their teeth chipped and shattered on his flesh, "What's a matter?" Naofumi taunted, "Can't find a good taste?" The tower shield darkened greatly in the waning torchlight, turning from a shining steel to a dull grey flecked with slivers of obsidian. The dogs redoubled their efforts to dig in their fangs, only finding the sensation of ceaseless phantom needles digging into each broken tooth.

The sympathetic magics of the Ring of Weaponbreaking and the Weaponbreaker's Tower Shield made each bite a maddening experience for the brainless beasts who could not understand how their prey was hurting him, just that he was.

Eyes closed and arm pinned, all Naofumi could do was let them bite him like some demented chew toy. As long as his arm did not drop, they could not pass in the narrow tunnel and reach Raphtalia.

"Lord Naofumi!" The Frightened child had regained her senses after being shoved, the warrior woman drawing her sword and lifting their last lit torch. "Lord Naofumi! Are you okay?"

"I'm still alive." Naofumi yelled back, "But I am no longer a dog person. If you ever think about getting me a pet, can we get a nice bird maybe? Something not so high maintanence." he joked.

Raphtalia was ready to drop to her knees from relief, "How are you not hurt?"

"I wouldn't call covered in a barrel's worth of demon dog spit not hurt."

"Is this really the time for jokes?"

"Raph, I have at least a dozen heads nibbling on me, if I don't laugh I'm gonna cry."

Raphtalia stood beside the shield trying to look into the cracks on each side. "Is there any way I can help?"

"Got anything to drive them off?"

"I don't think so!" Raph searched her backpack. Only a rope, a few of the remaining rolls from breakfast and two spare handles for the pickaxes were left inside. "I think I have an idea! Can you move the shield over?"

"If I move it out of the way, they'll try to get to you!"

"Don't worry about me! I want to try stabbing them with the spare handles!" Raphtalia hacked the end off of the pair with her short sword. They were crude, but they had a point. They would kill.

Naofumi grunted, trying to shift your weight when you're buried under a half a dozen great dane sized dog monsters was not an easy task. "Let me see if I can..."

The shield shifted an inch, maybe two. It was enough for Raphtalia to clearly see past the barrier, and the unguarded hind-quarters of one of the monsters.

She didn't hold anything back. Jabbing the broken wood like a short spear caught the first beast just south of the ribs, and it howled with unexpected pain. The second thrust caught it under the ribs and pierced its left lung. It died choking on its own blood.

"How many are there?" She called out.

Naofumi honestly had to count by the number of jaws biting him at one time, the constantly blunting paws were coming at him to quickly to count. "Ten heads! So maybe five more?"

Raphtalia rattled the make-due spear in between the walls and the shield, encouraging the monsters to lunch for the gap. And each time they came near, she lashed out, stabbing into them and poking holes in their leathery hides. Two more died, one with its heart skewered, the second with matching holes in both necks.

The remaining three were weary of the cracks. The hard prey was hard to chew, but they'd prefer Naofumi's defended flesh to the softer pray behind the shield that would fight back.

"They don't seem to be taking the bait anymore." Raphtalia called, "I think we may have to let them through!"

"Not happening!"

"I'm not letting them use you for a soup bone! Let me fight them!"

"You froze up!" Naofumi vehemently protested, "I'm not risking you again!"

"I can fight!" Raphtalia argued, "Trust me!"

"I want to trust you-"

Raphtalia _kicked_ the tower shield, "I swear to the calamity itself, you either let me fight or I swear I will knock this shield down and fight you next!"

"Fine!" Naofumi wasn't pouting. It was the smell of the dog drool.

He tensed and twisted. The shield shrank and shifted. A sword-like spike extended.

Raphtalia charged, torch and spear alight in one hand and sword in the other.

Two more of the dogs lost their lives to the onslaught. The last realized its pack was gone, its fangs were broken and its claws were chipped. It turned to run, only to feel flames pierce its body as the furious woman drove her flaming wooden spear into its back.

Naofumi sat against the tunnel wall, using his position as leverage as he turned his back this way and that to try and stretch. "That was the second most unpleasant experience I can remember..."

Raphtalia took a seat beside him, emotionally and physically exhausted. "Really what was the first?"

She regretted asking.

**0**

**000000**

**0**

After gathering their loot, harvesting monster parts, and Naofumi using the stream to wash off what he could of the dog demon's spit the pair made their way out of the cave and back to the town. A few monster parts were used to unlock some more shield types, same with the metals collected. The rest was used to inflate their war funds to the four digits. Between the monster slaying request, the corpses, and the dug up ore the pair had earned a pretty penny for a long day of work.

They just needed to finish their heart-to-heart.

Naofumi was the one to approach her, and waited until they had eaten dinner and were settling down for bed. "So why did the dogs bother you so much?" he asked gently.

Or he could puss out like a bitch and use a different bonding moment to distract from the more uncomfortable topic.

Raphtalia was silent at first before she started to open up, "I came from a place on the outskirts of the country. Beside the ocean. A town of Demi-Humans." She shrugged a little. "Melromarc isn't kind to Demi-Humans. Too many wars in the past I guess. But where I grew up, everyone was nice to each other. Even between races..." She trailed off, expression downtrodden.

"What happened?" Naofumi prompted.

"The first Wave of Calamity struck… Demons we've never seen before came swarming out in numbers unheard of. They were everywhere, everybody panicked. We didn't even have a chance to raise a defense." Raphtalia sniffled a little, but she didn't cry. "My family was attacked by a giant three headed dog, with oversized fangs and horns on each of its heads. We got trapped by the cliffs… and they… They shoved me off the cliff and ran at it..."

Naofumi sat on his bed and pulled her close.

He held her and comforted her while she let it out.

"_This is becoming a pattern..._" he thought to himself.

"You don't need to be scared anymore Raph. As long as you stay by my side I will protect you and whoever else I can." he promised, "We will get stronger, gather more friends, and we will end the Calamity so that nobody else has to suffer because of it."

Raphtalia nuzzled into his chest, "Lord Naofumi?"

"Can you just call me Naofumi?"

"Thank you… Naofumi."

He let her sleep in his bed that night without complaint.

That didn't mean he didn't complain about stolen sheets in the morning.


	10. You don't do that in Church!

**Some Gifts for the Shield Hero**

**Chapter Ten – You don't do that in Church!**

The shop-keeping blacksmith smiled as they walked into his shop, and greeted them with a wave. "Naofumi! Raphtalia! I haven't seen you two for weeks. Just what have you been up too? Or have you just been fighting all this time?"

Naofumi was about to greet his friend before a terrible thought struck him, "_What is his name?_" The name wasn't escaping him, he had just never asked for it and now he felt terrible for it.

Raphtalia had no such hang ups, "We've been traveling!" She exclaimed with honest excitement, "I've gotten to see a bunch of new things, and we even went exploring an old mine!"

"So what brings you to my shop today?"

"We need to get Raphtalia some better fitting clothes, some better weapons, and I wanted to see if my special order was ever finished."

"I'm going to take a look at the chain-mail and leathers." Raphtalia wandered off with a happy little grin.

The blacksmith grinned like he always did during a payday. "I see shes been filling out." he gave Naofumi a less than subtle nudge, "She's become quite the looker hasn't she?"

Naofumi's expression was the textbook definition of flat, "Yeah... Sure..."

Raphtalia was pouting again, and the Blacksmith gave an exasperated frown. "Well aren't you enthusiastic.

"Look I know she's beautiful, and any guy should be thankful to have any affection from her...It's just..."

"Kid, it's alright, I don't have any hangups about you likeing men."

"Thats not-!" Naofumi had to pause, less he shriek with frustrated rage, "It's because I still think of her as ten years old."

"Didn't I explain that to you?"

"I know she's considered an adult in this world. I know she looks like a fully grown woman. I just can't get over the fact her mind is only ten years old."

The shopkeep sighed, "So you intend to ignore the fact that she wants you?"

"I don't... I just don't want to feel like I'm taking advantage of her. I'd feel like a scumbag."

The older man clapped a hand to his shoulders, "Well you better come up with a plan. I'm surprised she didn't just jump your bones within a few days."

Naofumi felt the lump in his gut. The lump that always heralded impending peril. "What do you mean?"

"It's rare, but sometimes a beast person gets their level boosted too fast." the shopkeeper explained, "They get giddy and go a little wild from the desires they didn't have before." He looked an uncomfortable Naofumi right in the eye. "Do you get what I'm saying?"

"So your saying there is a chance that..."

"Lord Naofumi..." he said with all due respect and absolute certainty, "She wants to mount you like a horse, and ride you like a stallion."

"Oh." he was trying really hard not to think of his prior experience with an exposed tit, or the unfinished talk that had happened somewhere deep in an old mine shaft. "So your saying..."

"If you don't do something to help her calm her _nerves _then there is a chance someone else could charm her."

Naofumi felt a very large amount of _something. _The lump in his gut had gone, leaving behind it a mountain sized pile of fury and rage. "I would never let that happen." the hero hissed out, teeth clenched.

The older man shrugged, "Well then, you have to stick by her side until the rush fades then."

"How long is that supposed to take?"

"The fastest change I ever heard of was about two months. So give it about that."

"But it's only been a month! Are you saying I have to keep her safe and keep up my guard for another month?"

"Hey, you fucked this up yourself." the blacksmith said calmly.

Naofumi took a seat at the counter and flopped, then groaned. "I know..."

"I'm gonna go grab that new shield of yours. Don't go anywhere."

Naofumi groaned again, and presented his fiscally inclined buddy a one finger salute.

"Naofumi look!" Raphtalia skipped up to him, clad in a new set of studded leathers.

He kept his hunched over spot, only turning his head. "Neat? Is it just leathers or?"

"Nope!" she said cheerfully, folding over a flap of leather in a shoulder pad and showing the chain-mail pinned to the backside. "See? it's got some extra armor hidden inside the layers of leather."

"Isn't that a little uncomfortable?"

"Nuh-uh. Most of the chain is covered by a second layer of leather."

"Sounds nice. Did you find any weapons you like?"

"Yup!" Raphtalia quickly pulled two knives from her sleeves, a dagger from above her butt, a small hatchet axe from her right hip and a silvery short sword from her left hip. Finally she rolled up her sleeve to show a length of wire-like rope and the attached dart that she had spun around her arm.

"Wow… Uh… do you think you have enough?"

"I was considering grabbing a longbow, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to take on the burden. I like moving quick and using tumbles, so there is always a chance I could spill the arrows or land on the bow..."

The blacksmith returned, carrying what looked like a pike covered turtle shell. "Looks like I'm getting another haul from you two." He dropped the heavy shield onto the counter-top. "Say hello to the Spiked Shield!"

"Hello Spiked Shield!" Naofumi wasted no time holding up the Legendary Shield to scan.

**Weapon Unlocked!**

**Form: Spiked Heavy Shield (Quality: Unique Masterwork)  
Requirements: Weapon Copy – Spiked Shield, Friendship with _? _50%  
Bonus: +100 Defense, +100 Attack  
Special Effects: [Defensive Spikes], [Wall of Spikes], [Field of the Impaler], [Shield Bash (Greater)]**

"_The goddamned game is mocking me now..._" Naofumi gave his _still unnamed_ friend a sly glance, "_I swear, I'm gonna find out your name someday!_"

Naofumi would have just asked, he really would… if not for the fact that he would have to admit that he never bothered to learn the blacksmiths name. "_And that would be too awkward to consider..._"

"So, anything else or is that all?"

Naofumi reached for his coin pouch. "That should be-"

Raphtalia grabbed his arm and yanked him to his feet, "We need to get Naofumi some protective gear too!" she pointed out.

The blacksmith looked surprised, "Oh yeah… How have you gotten so far without any armor? I know that shield of yours is supposed to be great, I just didn't think it was that powerful."

Raphtalia gave Naofumi a similar look. "He's right. How is it that you don't take a scratch when you're attacked?"

Naofumi lifted up his hands and showed them the ten rings on his fingers, "I guess I can tell you guys. Before coming here I got these rings. They've got all sorts of magics to them, and some of them are really powerful."

The blacksmith looked doubtful. "They seem kind of plain to me."

"Can you hand me a really sharp dagger?" Naofumi asked, pulling off one of the darker silver rings from his hand. "Raphtalia, can you please put this on?"

He held out the ring for her to take.

Raphtalia's face turned a burning scarlet and Naofumi could swear he could hear a soft squealing coming from her. He slipped the ring on her offered finger, and for a moment the steady squeal became a noticeable and persisting squeak. "_I really think she's misunderstanding this._" Naofumi thought loudly.

While she was still catatonic with gleeful fantasy, he guided the offered hand to the counter-top.

"I take it you want me to try and stab her?" The smith asked.

"Yup."

The noise died fast. "What?" Raphtalia squawked.

Naofumi rolled his eyes a little, "It's not like he's going to try and take your hand off. Just showing that while your wearing the ring that you wont get hurt as easily, okay?"

She hesitated, but nodded. The smith hesitated as well, but eventually tried to cut her skin. The knife slid over her unguarded flesh without a mark. The second swipe used more force, and again it was ignored. Three more cuts were attempted, but Raphtalia's skin remained free of the smallest cut. Finally the last attempt was made, and even a violent stab couldn't pierce her skin. The dagger was the only thing there that came to harm, the tip broken and the edge ruined by chips and cracks.

"That is amazing." the older man murmured, "Which ring is that?"

"The Ring of Weaponbreaking. Apparently it makes the wearer's skin as hard as metal, and any weapon that touches them starts to break apart."

"You know I'm going to charge you for the dagger right?"

Naofumi sighed, "I figured."

"So what is it that the other ones do?" Raphtalia asked, reluctantly handing back the ring.

"Well, two are healing rings. One makes it where certain types of attacks can't hurt me. One stops me from being bound by magic. One makes me need less food and sleep. One of them makes it where I can move things with magic. Another makes a shield out of magic. And the last one supposedly makes me a lot wiser."

"Holy crap kid. That sounds like a lot of power is in those rings. Do you really need all of that?"

"I guess I don't..." Naofumi gave Raphtalia a queer look. "Hey Raph, I have an idea." He slipped off two rings; the Ring of Rapid Healing and the Ring of Force Shield.

"You want me to take your rings?" She squeaked, her expression torn between excited, happy, and disbelief.

"I don't need two rings healing me all the time, and I don't think I need a second unbreakable shield either..." he made a smarmy nod to the Shield that was always attached to him.

Raphtalia took the rings with a small amount of reverence. She slipped the rings on like they would break with a breeze. "So how do they work?"

"The Ring of Rapid Healing healing just seemed to be an always on sort of thing. I don't know about the Ring of Force Shield, I never had to use it..."

Raphtalia concentrated and made a flicking gesture with her left hand. A circle of semi-transparent cerulean light expanded from the featureless iron band on her hand. "I got it!" she cheered.

"Huh. Brains and beauty..." Naofumi quipped.

The shield vanished as Raphtalia returned to blushing mess. She tried and failed to cover her expression with her hands. "Thank you very much Naofumi."

"Your welcome Raph..."

The two were looking deeply at each other. Both sporting a blush on their face and affection reflected in their eyes.

"This is a place of business." Their metalworking friend cut in, "You take those starry-eyed horse apples outside or to the Inns."

"Sorry!" both yelped.

"Magic rings and romance aside kid, Your girl is right. You need to get some armor, just in case if nothing else."

Naofumi shrugged, "Can I get a set of layered leathers like hers?"

"The chain-mail set right? I think I have another set in your size? If not I can have it done before the next wave."

"When is the next wave?"

That set off the muscle loaded shopkeep, "You mean to tell me you haven't checked the hourglass yet?"

"I remember someone saying something about an hourglass…"

"For fucks sake… Kid, when you're done here go to the big church in the town square. It's got a clock tower right nearby, so you can't miss it. Inside the church there is an hourglass. People say that when all the sand falls, the heroes and their companions are summoned to the place where the next wave will strike."

"Clocktower square, inside the temple. Got it. Let's go Raphtalia."

"Oy! I still need to get your armor and you still gotta pay."

"Right…"

**0**

**000000**

**0**

Purchases made, and new inventory equipped, the pair set off again. The temple was easy enough to find after all. Middle of town, made of white marble, surrounded by towers, it would be a wonder if someone couldn't find it.

"Huh, the type you can just walk in..." he mused.

Raphtalia was awestruck, "This is the first time I've seen such a beautiful church." She admitted.

Two women wearing robes of a religious style were quick to approach them.

"You are the Hero of the Shield I presume?" one asked.

Naofumi nodded. "Yes I am," he replied respectfully. "I was told I should see the hourglass and learn how long until the next wave arrives. Can you please lead me to it?"

"Right this way." The walk was short, only a few yards away behind a giant pair of doors.

The hourglass was a beautiful piece of art, held up by two ivory pillars beside it and decorated with gold.

He approached it, looking for a means to estimate how soon until the sands ran out. "So this is the hourglass?"

The shield on his arm started to glow as he approached, the familiar look of a scan taking place. Two screens popped up.

**Type: Dragon's Era Sand Shield  
Requirements: Absorbing Sand from the Hourglass of the Dragon's Era  
Bonus: None  
Special Effects: [Portal Shield]**

The second was a little more ominous.

**36:38:22**

**36:38:21**

**36:38:20**

**36:38:19**

"_It's a countdown..._" Naofumi turned to his partner, "We've got less than two days before the next wave."

"Do you think we'll be ready?" Naofumi could see hints of her fears again, and cut them off at once.

"I don't think we're ready, I know it." he boasted.

"Really?"

"Well yeah! We've taken everything the world threw at us, and used it to beat it back again."

The sound of approaching footsteps clad in heavy armor was their only warning before a much more obnoxious presence had to make itself known.

"Ew. If it isn't the rapist hero, himself!" Motoyasu proclaimed.

Naofumi wanted to be the bigger man, "Raph, just follow my instructions okay?" It didn't mean he wasn't above mocking a jerk though.

Standing at the hourglass' room entrance and blocking the way, Motoyasu continued his taunting, "You're still wearing lame ragged clothes like that? What's the point? You can't fight!"

The princess stood beside her chosen hero, just as arrogant looking as ever. Beside them, the other girls in Motoyasu's party stood quietly. None of them looked exited to be there.

The jackass couple didn't take the lack of replies easily. Somehow, it hurt their egos to be ignored.

"Come now you slimeball!" the princess finally added, "Lord Motoyasu is talking to you, now answer him!"

Raphtalia stood in front of them defiantly, "Begone, uh… Naofumi? What was that word you wanted me to call her?"

"Thot." He said, holding back laughter.

"Begone, Thought!" Raphtalia yelled.

Naofumi found himself bent over, roaring with laughter. "Oh that made my day!" He took a look at the perplexed looks on the their faces and started laughing again.

Raphtalia took a moment to realize something, "Pardon me, would you mind telling me who you all are?" she asked with genuine niceness. It just set off Naofumi's laughter again.

The princess was still upset, and Naofumi's cackling laughs were not helping her mood. "What a strange girl, to not know of Lord Motoyasu?"

"I was talking to you teammates, Thot." Raphtalia said with a smile. "I don't care about you or little lying wonder."

Motoyasu didn't notice the insults sent his way, his libedo was leading him and he was determined to follow. "She's so cute..."

Princess Malty couldn't keep the shock and surprise from her voice, "P-Pardon?!"

The Spear Hero paid no attention to the jilted lover he walked by, rather focused on grabbing Raphtalia by the hand and pulling her closer. "Salutations, beautiful mistress! I am the Hero of the Lance, Motoyasu Kitamura!" he smiled in his usual swave way at her, "If you feel up to it, would you mind saving this world along side me?"

Naofumi's laughter died a very horrible death, the Shield on his arm shifting from the simple small shield to a violent violet buckler.

"No thank you." Raphtalia said coldly, ripping her arms from his grasp, "I am with Lord Naofumi."

Motoyasu didn't take the rejection well, grabbing her arm again before she could move away, "That is terrible, you need to stay away from a deviant like him before he forces himself upon you!" he started to pull her away, ignoring her demands to let go, "Everything will be okay if you come with-"

Raphtalia silenced him with a fierce slap. The blow was hard enough that one of her newly given rings was able to split the skin of his cheek.

Everyone was silent. Everyone was still.

Motoyasu's visage was all fury and outrage, "How dare you!" he reared back his hand to strike her.

Naofumi's bellow was just as angry, "_**Push**_!"

A wave of magic and force from the gravity shield slammed into Motoyasu's gut and sent him sprawling across the floor. The Spear Hero coughed and gasped as his empty lungs tried to draw in breath.

Naofumi walked over to the bastard, "Don't you ever touch Raphtalia with those filthy hands of yours. Ever. Again." he said, moving to the door.

Raphtalia walked past the stunned party, adding in her own two coppers. "You shouldn't accuse someone of being a rapist if you are the one who grabs women when they say no."

Coughing, wheezing, and in pain, Motoyasu could only watch the pair leave them behind with eyes clouded with tears.

"_I will stop you Naofumi!" _The fallen hero swore to himself, _"Even if I have to kill you to do it!_"


	11. A moment of rest

**Some Gifts for the Shield Hero**

**Chapter Eleven - A Moment of Rest**

**11:42:33**

**11:42:32**

**11:42:31**

**11:42:30**

**11:42:29**

Naofumi woke early that morning, just as the sun started to rise. He watched the counter screen in the corner of his vision drip down second by second. Behind him, Raphtalia was snuggled against his back… somehow cocooned in _all_ of the bed covers.

"_One day, I'm gonna figure out how she does that…_"

It wasn't so much that he was genuinely annoyed at the constant theft of warm blankets in the night, it was more Naofumi's personal curiosity as to how in the abyss' did she manage to take them all in her sleep without waking him. It was always a possibility that some magic was involved, but explaining everything unexplained with magic was just lazy in his opinion.

Tired of procrastinating and feeling a rather urgent need to pee, the Shield Hero rose from bed, ignoring the groans of protest that came from a still half-sleeping Raphtalia.

The timing couldn't have been more inopportune. The door of the room was opened just in time for a half naked Naofumi to nearly run into a maid and Raphtalia to more accurately voice her complaints, "Lord Naofumi…." she slurred, wanting her human heat pad to return, "Come back to bed..."

The maid glanced between the lovely young woman sprawled out on the bed and the hero in the hall. Naofumi sheepishly grinned and gave a little shrug. The maid gave the hero a rather excited and coy little grin, "Lucky girl..." she said teasingly, "I wonder if I could spend some time with the Hero too."

Naofumi's brain experienced critical failure, "I-I...uh..."

The maid pressed a finger to Naofumi's lips to silence him. "I know you have to prepare for the wave, so maybe afterwards…?"

Naofumi's mind was still hovering just above useless, "I guess? I mean maybe."

The maid giggled, glad to have flustered a man with such a reputation, "See you later hero..." she walked away with a very noticeable sway to her hips.

Naofumi's eyes followed the view until it walked out of sight.

Then he felt the need to empty his bladder return as he heard Raphtalia clear her throat behind him.

"Oh… Good morning Raph."

"Naofumi you jerk!"

"Ow!" The resulting smack could be heard even outside the inn's walls.

**0**

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**0**

**10:57:29**

**10:57:28**

**10:57:27**

**10:57:26**

Tired of moping around their rented room, Naofumi decided a walk to clear his head was in order. Raphtalia had elected to stay at the inn, to do a much needed round of maintenance on their gear and prepare for the upcoming wave. "_Bullshit… We both know she's mad at me..._" Naofumi thought, rubbing at the fading bruise on his face. The fresh air was helping his mood, but the atmosphere around the town was dragging him back down.

Naofumi linked his hands behind his head as he walked, glancing up at the sky. "Everyone's making preparations huh?"

Soldiers patrolling the streets were on guard, eyes alert. The market was almost empty, most of the stands picked clean from people stockpiling food. "_I guess everyone is worried that the next wave might show up somewhere around here._" Naofumi could see more than one house with the windows clearly blocked from the inside.

A number of knights and hired swords had gathered at the various equipment shops, looking to buy better gear at the last moment. "_Well there goes that idea._"

Returning to the inn and a fuming Raphtalia was less than appealing. The idea of visiting the Velvet Pearl was appealing, but Naofumi knew that would only make matters with Raphtalia worse. Severely worse. Deals with the old ones level of worse.

And Naofumi had no need to add Lovecraft's nightmares to an already bad situation.

"Hey! It's Naofumi! Naofumi! Over here!"

Itsuki was walking down the same road, Ren at his side.

Naofumi greeted them with a wave, "What are you two doing here?"

Itsuki gave a helpless sort of shrug, "I wanted to find something to relax while I can."

Naofumi looked at the swordsman, "What about you?"

"Itsuki dragged me along." Ren said with some grump.

"So…" Naofumi glanced around, "where are your party members?"

"Preparing..." Both replied.

"So, wanna find a place for a drink? Maybe plot out a plan of action better than 'See enemy, charge'?"

Itsuki was all smiles, "Sure. That sounds nice."

Ren was as lone wolf as ever. "Fine. But if your ideas are stupid then I'll find something better to do."

**0**

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**0**

**05:38:16**

**05:38:15**

**05:38:14**

**05:38:13**

The strategizing was under way, ideas tossed back and forth. Positions, planning, and what ifs were thought up then countered. It was amazing what you could get done without a vainglorious dickhead causing problems. Then they started talking about techniques and quickly got off topic, as all men tend to do when discussing superpowers.

"-then the sword launches a blade of air at the foe." Ren explained.

"That's bullshit!" Naofumi slammed his mug against their table, furiously pouting at the unfairness of it all.

Ren rolled his eyes, "It's how the technique works."

"Not that!" Naofumi snapped, "I mean the fact that everybody else has ranged attacks but me!"

"You to be fair, are just using a shield." Itsuki reasoned.

Naofumi's pout was still there, if barely, "Well yeah, but I has hoping that I could have a super shield attack or something. So far its been all defensive stuff. Then again I haven't had a chance to test out my newest shield yet..."

"Is that the one you sucker punched Motoyasu with?"

Naofumi grinned, "You mean when we were at the church?"

"Yes."

"Nope that was the gravity shield." Naofumi explained, "I think that was because I overpowered it more than anything. The push spell is more a shove than anything."

"Wait, why were you and Motoyasu fighting?" Itsuki questioned.

"He came in calling me a rapist, the princess was being a bitch. Then Raphtalia called the bitch a Thot, and Motoyasu pissed me off by grabbing Raph and not letting go when she told him to fuck off."

Ren rolled his eyes again, this time with an angry grimace, "Of course he was lying again."

Naofumi paused mid drink. "Huh?"

Itsuki shrugged. "He tried spinning lies again. This time he tried to tell us that you attacked him at the temple when he tried to talk your slave girl into going with him to get freed."

Naofumi snorted into his drink. "Yeah, good luck with that. I don't have a slave girl."

"According to Motoyasu, you do." Ren remarked, keenly watching Naofumi's expression.

"Raphtalia's not a slave you guys. I found her, freed her and now shes my teammate by choice."

"So why does the dumb-ass think she's a slave?"

"I don't know why he thinks half the shit he does." Naofumi shrugged, genuinely not giving a fuck. "As far as I'm concerned, him and the princess can fuck off and stay far away from me."

Ren leaned forward on the table, propping himself up with crossed arms. "You know that it's not that simple right? They are actively plotting against you for some reason. Motoyasu keeps trying to spread this tale that you're some sort of rapist. It's only a matter of time before they try something else to get to you."

Itsuki was just as worried. "Maybe we should start teaming up or something? Or maybe one of us could stick with you, or you tag along with us? We don't have to party up, just work together…?"

Naofumi took a sip of his drink, his fifth beer since they sat down, "That doesn't sound too bad. I can still play support and healer, Raphtalia can be my guard just in case. I back your teams and we get to practice some teamwork too."

Ren had to point out the obvious. "It still doesn't stop Motoyasu from being a stupid pain in our collective asses."

"What do you think we should do?" Itsuki countered.

Naofumi swallowed another gulp of beer. "Hit him with the biggest insult we can of course." the other two heroes gave him questioning looks, "We ignore him."

"Why?"

Naofumi put down his mug. "Look, at the end of the day I know I'm stronger than him. Also, I'm pretty sure the both of you are as well. For god's sake, a magical push winded him. Does that sound like a real hero to you?"

Neither could disagree.

"The way I see it? Fuck Motoyasu. He can play his shitty games with the princess, while we become _legends._ How's that sound?" He extended an open hand.

The three clasped arms as fellow heroes, with a bond of friendship growing strong between them.

**0**

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**0**

**04:08:54**

**04:08:53**

**04:08:52**

**04:08:51**

Naofumi stood outside of his rented room, reeking of booze and yet stone cold sober. "_Raphtalia's probably still pissed with me._" With slumped shoulders and a sigh from his lips, Naofumi entered the room.

Right as Raphtalia was finishing undressing, pulling off her shirt.

A smart man would close their eyes and turn away.

A smart man would back away and close the door with an apology.

A smart man wouldn't stare like a jackass and let their mouth hang open.

Naofumi was technically a wise man. Not a smart man.

Like a fool struck dumb by art he took in the sight of Raphtalia shining in the waning light. The colors of a setting sun were shining over her exposed skin, and gave her an almost holy glow. The way her face was flush with embarrassment and slight delight made her look adorable and desirable all at once. The way she covered her self, was a delightful tease that would have broken lesser wills.

The way she hurled a boot at Naofumi to snap him out of his trance was more than enough to bring reality crashing back down. Bullshit defense aside, having anything smack you in the eye will always hurt.

"Sorry!" He finally yelped, ducking out of the room again before a second boot could catch him anywhere worse.

Naofumi took a seat in the hall, waiting for her to finish getting ready. A few minutes passed, with Naofumi arguing with his now revived libido and its renewed desire to claim the unconquered lands of Raphtalia. "_Not happening." _He repeated to himself, _"Not happening. Not happening. Not happening._"

By the time the raccoon woman had finished equipping for battle, Naofumi had managed to calm his perverted parts and was trying to ignore the discomfort of the pair of blue balls the retreating libido had left behind.

Naofumi entered the room expecting to change into his armor, while Raphtalia left.

Raphtalia had other ideas, sitting on her bed while watching him with a coy little smile.

Naofumi pulled out his armor, tossing it on the bed, "Aren't you going to leave?"

The coy smile widened, "I'm fine right here."

Naofumi felt slightly unnerved, just a little to the uncomfortable side of things. "But I'm going to change."

"I know."

"Oh." Naofumi's defenses and mystical powers had one weakness. The same weakness that all heroes, solders, and every-man everywhere can share. A lack of experience. He tried not to show how much it affected him. He really did. But the utterly embarrassed flush that blossomed on his face and the way he was hesitating was a dead giveaway. "So. Uh, You're just gonna..."

"Sit here and watch? Yes." She said, with no shame whatsoever.

"Why?"

"You've walked in on me changing three times now." She pointed out, "This time you were _looking_." she accused.

"I'm sorry?"

"Oh, don't worry about it." She said dismissively, "After all, what's good for the goose is good for the gander." the hungry smile she gave him, caused some genuine fear. "Now I think you need to finish getting ready."

"But-"

"Now."

It was with great hesitance and unsaid excitement when Naofumi finally started to switch from his casual garments to the matching chain-loaded leathers. True to her word, Raphtalia watched every moment with keen interest. Even going so far as to lick her lips when he finally went to trade trousers. When the entire experience was over, Raphtalia's amused grin couldn't be broken by anything less than a malicious deity ruining it for her.

"Are you satisfied now?" Naofumi moped.

"For now." She teased.

The Shield Hero plopped down on Raphtalia's bed right beside her. "So, as fun as that was, I think we need to talk."

That caught Raphtalia off guard, "What about?"

Naofumi squirmed, "What we talked about in the mines."

He had her attention before. Now he had her interest.

Naofumi lay back, staring at the ceiling so he wouldn't be distracted. "I know you want us to be a… thing." he started, "I know I've told you that it makes me feel awkward…"

Raphtalia's expression was a cross of stunned silent and realization.

"I have to admit this, because we've been together for a month or so now, and I trust you." He continued, "I've been thinking about this a lot. I'm in a strange world, with a different culture and a new way that things are done." he chewed on his bottom lip a little, trying to think of the right words.

"I am attracted to you Raph." Her hero admitted, "I still feel it's wrong that I am, but I am starting too… well… have feelings for you."

Raphtalia's response was more excited pubescent squeal than words, "Really?"

Naofumi turned to look at her, and gave a small hesitant nod. "Yes..."

The full weight of a brown haired, bushy tailed, powerhouse of a woman barreled into him with a happy squeal.

"Raph! Need air!" Naofumi squirmed, "Can't Breathe!"

Raphtalia shifted position, but not her grip. "So does this mean we can be together now?"

Naofumi looked away, back to to biting his lip. "As long as we keep the physical stuff till much later on..." he let the silence stretch on a little longer than needed. "I suppose we can be..."

The resulting joy inspired squeeze would have shattered a lesser man's spine, "Ow! Fuck, Raph! Gonna break! Gonna break me! Let-me-go! Ow!"

For one brief moment of rest, the smiling pair could ignore the tragedies. Shun the waves. Neglect their responsibilities.

For a brief respite they could spend time in each others arms, making pointless small talk and forgetting their problems.

And that's how they chose to spend their last moments of relaxation.

Just them, nothing else.

**00:00:03**

**00:00:02**

**00:00:01**

**00:00:00**

Then the wave came, and it all came crashing down.


	12. Disceptatio In absentia

**Some Gifts for the Shield Hero**

**Chapter Twelve – ****Disceptatio ****In absentia**

Her rebirth had not been easy. Being ripped from nothingness and forced into any state of awareness hurt. It was not dissimilar from the ache of a restored nerve. That persisting ache was a reminder of her defeat, and it infuriated her._"You should not have interfered." _She scolded, still believing herself to be superior. "_You will cease these machinations and release me from these bonds at once._"

He was far above her petty threats. _"Really now?" _It took a large amount of will to not laugh, it was impossible not to grin, _"And I suppose a mistake like you is supposed to be a threat?"_

The grin was more than enough to provoke her. _"I will do more than threaten, I will slaughter you." _Her threat was less a promise of violence and more of a toddler throwing a tantrum.

"_Tell me, how does it feel knowing that you're nothing but a fish in a much greater pond?" _He asked without malice. "_Surely the knowledge that there are beings above you would help you calm that dreadful temper of yours?_"

"_You are wrong." _She denied, some of her power gathered into her clenching fists. A mountain range could be leveled with the power she leaked in frustration. _"My power is absolute. These are my worlds to do with as I please."_

"_They were yours. Were. Past-tense. As in the moment has come and gone." _He corrected,_ "You couldn't stop him in the original iteration. Your first maker saw to that. What exactly is supposed to change that here?"_

_His certainty of the fact was enough to make her dispel her manifested divinity. "You changed the rules." _She pointed out, _"This game is not the same." _She glared at him defiantly. _"If I kill him now, nothing will stand in my way."_

He chose to not correct her mistaken assumptions. _"I recall tilting things in his favor, negating some of the trash you tossed his way." _He chose to not address her other ideas. It would only lead her into challenging a certain hero in need of a wake up call. Those gifts were not a guarantee of victory.

The thrice-fallen goddess took his lingering silence as a confession of weakness. _"You poked holes in a world that isn't yours. Broke the way things were and left imperfections to exploit."_ She smiled, a mockery of the action. "_I will end him, bury him in a prison that he cannot escape, even in death. With him gone my damned fate is ended._"

"_You are just the worst kind of sore loser aren't you?" _The remark was mocking, but he was tired of her ego and the conversation as a whole.

Her madness would put Westerosi queens to shame._"Your makers restored this existence. They gave me life again. I won't let my same mistakes repeat. Your gifts won't protect him." _It was hard to tell who she was trying to convince more. Him, or herself.

_He couldn't resist prodding the goddess again. "I don't know… Even I consider the power of some of those shields to be rather broken." _

Botched resurrections commonly caused madness, and it seemed the forces that brought her back didn't care enough to make sure her mind stayed whole._"A thousand times nothing is still nothing. Against a monster, he may be superior. Against a goddess, he is more than outclassed." _Ego-driven madness was never appealing.

"_You know that they won't stand for this." _He pointed out. It was less of an attempt to stop her, and more an attempt to cover his own hide. _"Direct action is forbidden."_

"_What do I care for your irrelevant rules?" _She spat, _"The words of your maker mean nothing to me."_

His eyes rolled with enough sarcasm and scorn to fill the souls of a thousand college professors. _"Oh you stupid child. They built this existence you now live in."_

"_So? Why do I care?"_

"_Because that means that they are your makers as well."_


	13. The Calamity Cometh, part one

**Some Gifts for the Shield Hero**

**Chapter Thirteen – The Calamity Cometh, part one**

The Calling of the Four Heroes is a ritual as old as the Waves of Calamity. After the first wave comes, four heroes are called to protect the lives of the world. Bound to the hourglasses of each nation, when the sky is torn asunder the power of the hourglasses will call the heroes to the breach to do battle.

Normally, or as normal as it is for an event called a 'Wave of Calamity', the sky opens and monsters from another world enter the world to kill, pillage, and destroy. What was happening was far from normal.

The moment the ritual became active, Naofumi and Raphtalia were drawn to the battlefield. Summoned in an instant of magic and light. Weapons at the ready, hoping they would have a moment to get their bearings before having to fight a horde of monsters.

Their vision cleared just in time for them to get their bearings.

And watch the sky be torn asunder.

There was no missing the black crack in the sky, nor its cause. A giant's finger emerged from the crack, made from ivory skin and tipped with a nail made from dazzling diamond. The finger dragged its way across the sky, widening the wound. From it a mass of shapes and shadows began to fall like a torrent of the darkest rain.

Undead creatures and monstrous wasps fell from the sky, claws and stingers at the ready. Horrible sounds came from them. Moans, and buzzing, and growls, and screams. An orchestra of nightmares, not meant to entertain but to terrify.

Naofumi watched as tens of thousands of creatures fell from the shattered sky, a sense of morbid humor taking his tongue. "I can't help but wonder if this is a really obscure Dead Rising reference..."

Raphtalia gave him a very cross look.

"It's a series from my home about bees that make people into zombies...I think? I never paid too much attention to the plot..."

Raphtalia's less than amused glare intensified. "Is this really the time?"

Naofumi focused on converting his ever present shield into the dueling form, ignoring his awkward embarrassment. "No."

"You're so lucky I love you." Raphtalia quipped with a grin.

The charging horde of monsters didn't stop Naofumi from getting flustered, "What? I- uh..." He smacked himself to snap out of his confusion, "Save that till after we deal with the large number of things that wanna kill us okay?"

The Beast blooded girl was quickly wrapping her rope dart's wire around her sword arm as an additional layer of protection, "How do you want to do this?"

"We need to find Itsuki and Ren. We play support for them, and hopefully we can find a way to end this quick or keep the wave's attention on us."

The wave was almost upon them, "And what about until we find them?" she asked.

"Take as many of these decaying fucks down with us as we can!"

Naofumi opened the fight with the virtuous form's power-up.

**Combination Unlocked!**

**Combination: Paladin's Dueling Shield  
Requirements: Weapon Copy – Virtuous Shield, Weapon Copy – Dueling Shield  
Bonus: **All Stats +1000%, Damage Reduction (-15), Bonus Damage to Evil (Greater)**  
Special Effects: **[Protection From Evil (Persistent)], [Holy Aura (Persistent)], [Holy Smite], [Parry]****

Naofumi grinned like a madman.

The shining blade of the dueling shield was swiped with the mother of all backhands, "_**Holy **__**Smite!**_"

The resulting wave of blessed force was amplified by the powers of the utterly broken shield, the bonus damage to evil was just an additional insult to the already broken attack.

The first dozen were obliterated by the strike, their bodies evaporated by the power of the smiting.

The next several dozen were all slain as well, the holy power breaking whatever bonds were holding the undead together. The wasps survived in greater numbers, if one counts those with crippled or missing limbs as surviving.

A fun fact to remember: no matter what part of the various multiverses you're in, it's almost universal that undead will have a drastic weakness to to holy powers.

And Naofumi's Virtuous Shields were on par with the Coat of Trier or Lombardy's Iron Crown when it came to holy power.

The very presence of the Virtuous Shield was blinding to the walking corpses, and just as aggravating to the energies that animated them.

Provoked, threatened, and driven to murder by forces beyond their perception, the horde ceased its wave like spread and focused on one foe.

The Shield Hero gulped.

"_**Holy **__**Smite!**_"

Like a shotgun blast in any zombie horde scene ever depicted in media, it forced them back for a time. Took down a number of them, and then the horde persisted.

"_**Holy **__**Smite!**_"

With the numbers ever increasing the third blast was still killing them in droves, however it didn't matter when they clustered together in such numbers. The still shambling corpses would crawl over their fallen, the escorting wasps flying above it all and charging for the hero no matter how many were swatted from the air by Raphtalia's weapons or Naofumi's repeated smiting.

"_**Holy **__**Smite!**_"

The dead still fell from the sky faster than Naofumi's smiting could slay them. A fact that only became more and more apparent as the wave continued, and the corpses piled up. For every hundred that fell to a smiting, a thousand poured from the gap.

"_**Holy **__**Smite!**_"

The fifth strike was just as effective as the first and completely meaningless. The persisted waves of holy force could only arc out in one direction. A straightforward path of blessed destruction. Dumb as they were, it was their sheer numbers that allowed the beasts a tactical advantage. As the wave rushed to overwhelm them, they inevitably spread out. Leading them to surround the pair.

Sometimes, very rarely, quantity will overwhelm quality.

Naofumi could see the wave creeping closer, every minute that passed meant they gained more ground. The horde crawling over their own dead and crippled members if it meant getting even an inch closer to gnawing on Naofumi's bones.

Then Raphtalia's cry of pain rang out and Naofumi's desperate focus was forgotten.

"Naofumi! Help me!"

A dozen of the living dead were pressing close to her, and three of the wasps were about to strike.

He didn't think. He didn't rationalize.

He charged in.

Raphtalia needed him, and at that moment, he could do nothing else.

The spiked heavy shield was called out with a thought, empowered by the aura of the virtuous form. The blessings it granted was the only reason the pair were not struck down in an instant. Raphtalia's own magical shield saved her from the sickle-slash of the wasps, her own sword arcing out in retaliation. The move left her open to the grasping hands of the dead and the weapons carried by some.

Naofumi had a thousand curses at the tip of his tongue. The table sized shield glowed for a moment before Naofumi plowed the spike tips into the ground, "_**Field of the Impaler!**_"

The untested ability was as morbid as its name implied. Metal spikes blossomed from the ground, different lengths and sizes but all a rusty red. The conjured hazards pierced the flesh of the surrounding foes, lifting more than a few into the air and blocking the horde from getting closer. The field of needles was a welcome respite, blocking the beasts and bugs from getting any closer.

The shield hero's eyes swept around them, looking for a break in the ever growing crowd. "I'm starting to think we may be a bit overwhelmed here." Naofumi stated, "Was the first wave this bad?"

Raphtalia looked just as frightened, "N-no! This is much, much worse! The hole in the sky is bigger, it's darker out, and there too many monsters!"

"So what do we do?" Naofumi was beginning to sweat, holding the field of needles up was beginning to take its toll. The drain on his magical reserves was more than he expected, and keeping his shield pressed to the ground was leaving him exposed.

**Naofumi 1562500 EXP**

****Congratulations! You've reached Level 63!** **

**Raphtalia 1562500 EXP**

**Congratulations! You****r teammate**** reached Level 40*****!**

Despite the drastically outnumbered situation and the threat of death hanging above his head, Naofumi blinked and took a moment to appreciate how drastically broken his leveling had gotten. "Huh. Neat."

The surge of strength was enough to lessen the burden somewhat, but not enough to inspire confidence in their situation.

False confidence and bravado would have to do.

"So Raph, ready to show off?" Naofumi tried to give a reassuring smile. They both knew it was fake.

She gave him a mocking sort of shrug in reply, her own false bravado, "I know I'm not dying any time soon. You owe me a date after this!"

"When did I say that?"

"You didn't, I decided it's so."

"We make it out of this mess alive, it's a deal. Ready?"

"Ready!"

Naofumi looked at the beasts that were straining to push past the walls, "Hey Assholes! _Fuck you_!" Not his best insult, but he was feeling rather pressed for time.

The virtuous aura faded into the nothing as the shield took on a purple sheen.

**Combination Unlocked!**

**Combination: Gravity Trap Shield  
Requirements: Weapon Copy – Gravity Shield, Weapon Copy – Spiked Heavy Shield  
Bonus: Agility +100, Defense +100, Attack +100,  
Special Effects: [Heavy Field], [Impaler's Fall], [Wall of Attraction], [Implosive Iron Maiden]**

Naofumi wasted no time using the shield's power. The forest of spikes shrank, becoming a plain of grass sized needles. The beasts, bugs, undead, and demons charged. Their master demanded the blood of this hero in particular, and they mindlessly rushed to fulfill the command.

"_**Impaler's Fall!**_"

The cost to his MP was outrageous, and was proportional to the effect. For a hundred paces from them, the force of a sky falling dropped upon the horde. A wave of gravity that argued which force truly deserved to be called the wave of calamity. Bodies buckled and slammed into the ground with enough force to pulp flesh and splinter bone. The monster's that ignored the field and persisted in their charge caved like the rest under the might of the attack. Beings that could terrify any harden soldier were reduced to mush. Hulking forms that would sunder steel became quivering masses of flesh. Those that managed to crawl past the field were easy prey for Raphtalia's wicked weapons.

It really was a shame that it did nothing to dissuade their attackers, or to put a dent in their ever growing numbers.

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The battle was no easier for the wielders of the spear, sword, or bow. Their only saving grace was that the monsters weren't clustering around them like they were the shield. Backed by their supporters, they were granted more room to breathe, but against such swelling numbers their tiny advantage wasn't much.

Itsuki's usually demure demeanor was being shattered by a string of curses and swearing that proved he was spending too much time with Naofumi. "Why the _fuck_-" he launched another barrage of exploding arrows into the horde of undead, "-are there so _fucking_ many!?" His choice of words was more limited, but the spirit was what mattered. That and the explosions highlighting each cuss was very effective.

Ren was more collected, if anything he was running on an adrenaline rush and was actually enjoying himself. "It's called the '_Wave of Calamity_' for a reason!" His legendary blade was glowing yellow with electric magics, and he was using it to push his already high agility even further. "Any sign of Naofumi?" He yelled, cutting down a baker's dozen with each swing.

"Not yet!" Itsuki returned, another barrage scattering the wave of monsters. Above them, the sky birthed the nightmares as fast as they were slain.

Ren grimaced as he looked behind him to check on their unwanted baggage, still far behind them. "Motoyasu hurry up!"

The Spear Hero was lagging behind the others, his Legendary Spear still in its base form. Motoyasu was piercing zombie after zombie with his weapon, and was already coated with sweat. Unlike Itsuki and Ren, who benefited from sharing knowledge with Naofumi, Motoyasu had stubbornly refused anything that came from Naofumi. While one could suppose it was fruit from a poisonous tree in his mind, the truth was much more mundane. He didn't want to get help from someone he felt was a noob from a lesser class.

"Can you idiots give up on Naofumi already!" the playboy demanded, slipping in zombie blood and falling on his ass, "He's probably dead already and good riddance!"

Itsuki's next barrage came a little too close to Motoyasu and his harem. The staccato of blasts almost made the Spear Hero shriek.

"You know, it's amazing." Ren scowled in disgust at his fellow 'hero', "Just when I think you can't be any more scum-like, you say things like that."

"I'm not scum! You just can't see that Naofumi is a monster in disguise!"

"You're more of a monster than Naofumi!" Itsuki shot back.

"That's not right Itsuki." Ren corrected, "Monsters are actually threatening."

The silence between them was filled with the demoralizing cries of the dead still shambling around them.

Motoyasu's jaw was clenched so tight he was at risk of cracking a tooth. He was tired, aching, and frustrated. "_I'm supposed to be a hero!_" he wailed in his head, griping his legendary weapon like it was a lifeline, "_Why are they so against me? I've done nothing wrong!_"

As always, when he was at his lowest, his princess was there to lift him up again.

Princess Malty placed a reassuring hand on her hero's arm. "Lord Motoyasu, it's okay. They will see the error of their ways."

Motoyasu watched with sickening envy as his fellow heroes charged ahead again, leaving him behind in all the worst ways. "I'm not so sure Princess." he sulked, "I think they're just fine without me."

"Nonsense my lord." Malty denied, smiling at him as she let her charms do the convincing, "They just don't know any better. They are rather young after all. Innocent and Naive. It's no wonder the shield hero was able to trick them."

The Spear Hero nodded, "Yeah! That has to be it!" He jumped to his feet, ego already swelling. "Naofumi is just using some sorta trick or cheat! Once I figure it out then he's finished!"

He charged after the advancing heroes, determined to gather more XP for himself and hopefully some more acknowledgment. All but one of his team followed the Spear wielder.

Princess Malty watched her foolish hero run after an impossible dream with a wicked smile on her face. She calmly walked behind them, confident that none of the dead or the pests that swarmed around them would touch her.

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Hit and run had been their only chance of survival. Naofumi would release an area sweeping attack, devastating their numbers and pushing the ever creeping horde back. Raphtalia would finish any survivors close by and counter any monsters that made it to Naofumi. Then they would turn and run, taking whatever ground they could before turning and striking again. Even with their most devastating strikes, it was a war of attrition that they would lose the moment they became pinned.

Naofumi had been certain that nothing could make the situation worse.

Something that the forces at play were all too keen to take as a challenge.

"Naofumi look! It's the coal mine!" Raphtalia cried out.

The three day trip to and from Ryute Village felt like a lifetime ago. They had made it on foot, casually walking after about half a day.

There was no chance the village had mounted a defense, being so close to the crack in the sky.

Even if the reinforcements from the capital were all on horseback, it would still take them hours to get to the village.

And that was only if they could plow through the horde.

Naofumi pulled off one of his rings. The Ring of Weaponbreaking. "Raph. Can you run ahead to the village? Give them whatever support you can?" he held out the ring to her.

She didn't take it. "I can't just leave you here!"

"There is no way the village was evacuated in time, and no way help will get there." He argued, "The one's we've been pissing off will come out from behind those trees any minute. If I hold them back, we can take still take shelter in the mines. You have to get to the village and help everyone you can!"

She bit her lip and tears were already forming in her eyes.

He forced the ring onto one of her fingers. "Look, if it gets bad I'll join you. I owe you a date after all." He tried to smile.

She grabbed the back of his head and forced him into a kiss.

Short and soft and sweet.

He missed the feeling of her lips the moment she released her hold.

He watched her run towards the village, away from the horde. Trading the danger they knew for the danger he didn't.

He heard the first steps coming up behind him.

"I really hope that ring is enough to protect her." Naofumi muttered.

"It should be. That ring's damage reduction can be ridiculously abused at times."

Naofumi snapped around, eyes wide with disbelief.

"Desk-guy?!"

He was more fleshed out. Wearing an outfit that wouldn't be wrong on a rich noble's bookkeeper. His dirty blond hair was tied up in a short ponytail, and a pair of gold framed glasses were slipping down his nose. The exasperated frown on his face was unmistakable.

"I have a name you know..."

"O-oh…" Naofumi said awkwardly, "What is your name?"

"Just call me Allan."


	14. The Calamity Cometh, part two

**Some Gifts for the Shield Hero**

**Chapter Fourteen – The Calamity Cometh, part two**

The interloper had appeared. She could feel it in her bones.

The Scowl on Princess Malty's face would make lesser men weep in fear. It was only luck that none of the heroes or their party members spotted her heinous expression. The horde was still pouring from the gap in the sky, and with the ever increasing number it meant the job was still not done.

And she knew it was all Naofumi's fault.

Thanks to the Goddess, She could detect the interloper. Once again interfering. A fly buzzing on the edge of her senses.

The Goddess' pets had their scent, had them surrounded. It would only be a little bit longer before the two of them would be ripped apart.

Then the buzzing became a roar, a scream of rage and pain repeated by thousands of voices at once.

and then silence.

The Goddess' pets were silent, her ears deafened, her eyes blinded.

The fallen princess felt faint, sickened, and was kept upright only by force of will.

Motoyasu saw his savior sway and was at her side at once.

"It's alright." he told her, but she wasn't listening. "It's alright, I'm here for you." he repeated.

"No." She croaked, bile rising, "Nothing is going to be right. This is all wrong. She needs to come and fix this right now!"

They assumed Malty was talking about her mother.

In a way, they were right.

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They floated around the air like leaves falling during the seasonal change. A dozen leaves in the wind, shining silver and twinkling as they reflected any light around them.

They were all coated with blood and bug juices.

Tribute given by the horde that attempted to harm their master.

Naofumi watched as the freely floating knives twisted and twitched mid-air, slicing and dicing the various dead that approached. The horde that had been overrunning him and Raphtalia had been halted by a dozen flimsy looking knives. Naofumi was considering crying from relief, if not the weirdness of it all.

The Desk-guy, now named Allan didn't bother giving the butchery behind him a passing glance. "Are you alright?" he asked, with a genuine concern, "You're looking kinda pale."

"What are you doing here?" Naofumi managed to ask.

Allan looked almost sheepish, scratching at his chin. His features were blurring somehow, getting harder to look at. "So, it turns out that you getting an advantage so early on has had some… unfortunate consequences."

Naofumi was tempted to throttle him. He'd die in the attempt, probably with those knives, but it was so tempting. "What do you mean?" the hero asked bitterly.

"Want the long version or the short version?" Allan was blithe, polite and uncaring. His features were coming back into focus.

"Short version." The Shield Hero growled, looking at his savior was giving him a headache. Looking at him was like looking at a autostereogram on steroids.

"T.L;D.R. it is then." Allan clapped his hands, and was all smiles. "Your original maker was intending for you to get to the end of your story, fight a god and you were never meant to win. Some half-cocked excuse about good not always winning."

Naofumi's expression was less than pleased. "What?"

"Yeah," Allan ignored Naofumi's disbelief, "most of those who learned of your tale were not pleased either, so they pressured your first maker into giving you a hollow and cheap happy ending."

Naofumi's expression was getting darker, "_What?_"

Allan just kept going. "So, this iteration… one of somewhere around... I wanna say fifty to one-hundred or so different multiverses at the time it started… was made. Our Makers re-created this existence, the scenario in it and started the whole thing all over again. But this time, they decided to boost you because they hated how you got the shaft in the first run. But that end-of-the-world boss bitch from the end caught on that she's stuck in the same path of defeat and she's decided to throw a childish fit and take you down before you become a pain in her ass."

Allan could see Mount Naofumi seconds from eruption. "Any questions?" he asked, politely.

"_**WHAT?**_" Naofumi exploded. "You're telling me that I was supposed to get the _Ardyn Izunia_ treatment, then I'm only saved from it at the whims of some sort of super-gods, who got bored and hit the reset button for their amusement, and now the end game boss is here to kill me so she doesn't die again?"

"I think that covers it, yes." Allan said with a childish nod.

"Fuckin'… what the _fuckin_' fuck… who the fuck… fuck this _fuckin'_… how did you _fuckin'_ fucks… _**fuck!**__" _Naofumi was bellowing at the end_._

"Well, that certainly illustrates the diversity of the word." Allan sassed.

"Is this really the time for jokes?"

Allan shrugged. "I'm wasting time until the mother of bitchiness shows up. I thought you would appreciate the support." He nodded not to subtly to the still dancing blades, each one still slicing away at the still oncoming horde that were just as ineffective as ever.

"Mother of Bitchiness?" the hero questioned.

"You might know one of her fragments." The psudonatural being pointed out, "I think she's called Malty in this world."

"Wait? You mean the bitchy princess is a part of the final boss?" Naofumi asked.

Allan frowned, "You know, I'm rather worried about how slow you must be naturally if the Ring of Epic Wisdom only boosts you this much."

"Hey!"

"Just to point out, you are repeating what I say as a question."

"That doesn't mean I'm stupid." Naofumi protested.

"No, it means it takes you longer than it should to catch on." The outsider countered.

"It's called clarification!" the Shield Hero argued.

"You really want to argue semantics while a horde of monsters is trying to overwhelm us?" Allan asked. Behind them, the horde was still walking into the dancing blades, and still being cut into rotten Sashimi.

Naofumi glared, "Says the one making jokes!"

"Are you always this hostile or is this a special occasion?" the other-world traveler quipped.

"I'm just a little stressed out!" Naofumi pointed out, yelling, "Ya'know the whole '_Wave of Catastrophe_' around us, the chosen hero crap, and pissed off goddess after me is just a little too much for most people!"

"Fair enough." Allan's form rippled slightly, just enough to be spotted, "I suppose a horde of the undead would be enough alone to unnerve most people. I suspect that your little girlfriend is having a heck of a time helping the village folk."

Naofumi paled, "Raph…"

"You did giver her the Ring of Weaponbreaking right?" Allan questioned.

"Yes?"

"Oh, good. Nothing to worry about!"

"Nothing to worry about?!" Naofumi raged, "She is on her own against these things!"

"Look, if I had to scale it, even armed the most damage one of these creatures could do is a twelve. That ring stops anything short of a fifteen on that scale from being more than a tickle. She will be fine. Besides, judging from your lack of other rings I'm guessing she has the rapid healing ring too?"

"Yes, but how did you-"

"I can see magic, kid." Allan cut him off, "Most spellcasters get it as a standard helper on their first quest. To use my stupidly made up damage scale, the ring heals at the rate of three points of damage every six seconds. Even if something managed to cut past the weaponbreaker's magics, the rapid healing would patch her up."

Naofumi's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Wait a minute. Are you another god or something?" the hero questioned, " and that's how you know all of this?"

"Nope," Allan said cheerfully, without a trace of a lie. "I'm just a simple innkeeper."

"_**WHAT?**_" Naofumi verbally flipped the table, "How does that make any sense?!"

Allan gave him an amused glance over the rim of his still present glasses, "Do you really want my backstory or would you rather help your furry-girlfriend from getting overwhelmed?"

Proper boyfriend rules dictated Naofumi give the correct answer, even if the lady wasn't around. "I want to help Raphtalia of course!"

"Good," Allan pulled out a pair of awkwardly shaped daggers from somewhere, and pushed them into Naofumi's hands.

"What are these?" Naofumi glanced at the blades. They curved forwards, had an almost axe-like head, and had silvery decorations around the handle. They made Naofumi's long dormant nerd senses tingle. "These look familiar..."

Allan was as mildly nonplussed as ever. "Huh, thought you were more of a Final Fantasy fan. You did reference fifteen's villain after all."

Naofumi looked at the weapons, trying to recall why there were so familiar, "So wait… these are..."

"The matching Kukri of one Nyx Ulric, yes."

"How?" Naofumi's expression defined confusion.

"My makers decided it wasn't fair if the only thing you ever gave your girl was a ring."

"That is not what I meant and you know it!" Naofumi accused.

Allan rolled his shoulders, and made a show of cracking his neck. His body blurring and rippling again, before settling back into the bookkeeper's form. "Kid, you're a character in a book, who got sucked into another book now inside someone else's altered copy of the script." Allan's newly reformed face was looking at him in a disappointed sort of way. "Every story ever told has a maker, and in this case our makers are taking materials from dozens of different worlds to help you, including their own original works. Stop questioning, be thankful, and lets go save your girl and stop a goddess mid-tantrum."

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Raphtalia wasn't just being protected by the Ring of Weaponbreaking. It took a well researched mind to know exactly how the ring granted its daunting defensive powers. For simplicity sake; it gave living flesh the properties of steel.

Which was why the cunning lass was using her body as a weapon.

Holy powers weren't the only weakness of the undead. After that it was usually blunt force trauma. You can cut a corpse all you want, but as long as the bones remained intact, the living dead would persist in shambling after you. Crush the skull and snap the limbs, and it's no longer a threat.

Which was why Raph, being the clever girl she was wasn't just slicing with her axe or sword. She was punching, kicking and relishing in every foe she took down. Jumping off walls to strike at the dozens of wasp in the air, or leaping from rooftops to slay the undead like an assassin. The village had been evacuated quickly, and the token defenders sent to escort those fleeing for the hopeful safety of the woods or the mines. Unburdened by the need to defend everyone, Raphtalia had been left to survive on the strength of her equipment and wits.

"_**Predator's Instinct!**_"

Her skill-set helped too.

Raphtalia's technique used her beast-blood's already beyond human senses to grant her awareness of the enemies around her. From there she let her instincts take hold. She scrambled over rooftops, hopped into broken homes from the window, or snuck around building using the shadows as her camouflage. They were the prey and she was the hunter.

She crossed a small garden yard, leapt to the top of a two story home, before dropping to small alleyway beside it. The gentle wind in her hair told her of the first enemy, charging in the air from behind. Another of the demon-like hornets. She ducked low, her right arm lashing out with a cleaving strike from her hatchet.

A ragged stumble at the corner of her vision was all she needed to spot another zombie lurching toward her, and her body twisted in place. A foot caught the dead man in the temple and her level forty given strength turned the skull to pulp.

Off balance, she used her hands to push off the ground and mule kick another pair of the shambling corpses, the blows hitting both in the chest and sending them into another dozen of their kin.

Space gained, she swapped equipment. Changing out the hatchet and short sword for the pair of knives in her sleeves. The pair of blades were flipped into a reverse grip, edges in. Ready to face the remaining six in her way. "Come-on you thots! Come get some!"

She really should have left the taunting to Naofumi.

The six ghouls were slain just as quickly as the rest. Their defenses no match for Raphtalia's over-leveled dexterity. Raphtalia paused her persuit at the alley's end, being careful to look before leaping out. The village wasn't as overwhelmed as she had been at Naofumi's side. The undead were still charging in by the dozens, but it wasn't the hundreds that had been charging after the Shield Hero. The revelation was not a pleasant one.

Further revelations were interrupted by another large zombie, recently reanimated, and carrying a massive two-headed axe. The now rotting bastard lifted the over-sized weapon with a single rotting arm, and slammed it down with a force that would cleave a lesser man in half. As it was, the blow was no threat to a stressed out Tanuki girl. With a gesture she had watched Naofumi practice dozens of times, she backhanded the weapon mid-decent with her chain covered right arm. The follow up counter drove the knife in her off hand into the off balance zombie's skull with enough force to bust the crown.

Raphtalia blinked, "Huh. Naofumi was right. That does work." She gave a tug expecting the knife to pull free, only to find the blade still stuck in. Likely pinched by some bone. Raphtalia took a moment to thank her handy knife, "_Erhard is probably going to be upset I left a knife buried in __a __rotting skull._" She thought with a sigh.

The moment the handle was released, she pulled her dagger from the small of her back. Already turning to cleave another skull, or cut down another bothersome wasp. The number of the monsters in the village was slimmer, despite the number pouring in from the gap. "_It's almost like they're coordinated." _Raphtalia thought,_"Going straight for the heroes, instead of just spreading out._"

Her skill enhanced senses were still still picking hearing human voices at the edge of her hearing. A few of the villagers were still trapped by the horde, or the damage it had done. The chasm in the sky was still dropping down monsters at an unceasing rate. Feeling the boost of her skill beginning to fade, Raphtalia abandoned her spot on the street, climbing a wall to the rooftops for a moment of rest.

Naofumi's stamina was seemingly limitless, but Raphtalia could feel the creeping exhaustion coming ever closer.

Concealed behind a crumbling wall, Raphtalia allowed her guard to drop just a little as she slid down her cover. The wails of the damned were everywhere, the buzzing of the devil wasps was incessant, and every once and a while some poor victim would scream their last as they were caught.

And here she was, one lone girl trying to hold back the end of the world from a backwater village.

"Naofumi," She whispered, "I really need some help..."

The shuffling thuds of more of the dead were getting louder.

Closer.

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The princess among them had been acting weird for a while, and both Ren and Itsuki noticed.

First she had been scowling, frowning, or just looking angry.

Then she had turned sick.

Now she was in a mix of frenzy and panic.

When they first started fighting, she had been keen to sit back and let others do the dirty work for her. Occasionally tossing out a blast of wind or a fireball when something got to close to her. Now she was throwing about great gusts of wind and flinging flames from her hands hot enough to slag the broken armor on her undead targets.

"It's all his fault! He's done this somehow. He needs to be punished!" she muttered to herself, growling the words like a wounded animal.

Motoyasu was at her side persistently now, only taking a step away if she was about to cast a spell or to stab the occasional surviving zombie that strayed to close. The entire time, agreeing with her like the sycophant he was. "Don't worry princess," he cooed, "Naofumi will get what he deserves."

Neither the Sword nor the Bow heroes were sure what sickened them worse. At this point their companion's behavior and the smell of the dead were both equally disgusting.

"Ren, maybe we should retreat." Itsuki was looking back at their various party members. "I don't think we can keep this up for much longer."

"Not an option." the sword hero disagreed. "We've been surrounded for some time. We still need to meet with Naofumi, and go from there."

"But what if he's..."

"His defense is magnitudes higher than us. We might be faster, or stronger. But He's gonna outlast us. For all we know, he's set up a barricade or something."

"Still..." Itsuki almost choked on the words. "I don't think _I _can do this for much longer."

Ren didn't answer. He took a moment to watch as their party pushed against the horde, and saw as they made no progress.

The woods around them were either blown over, or lit ablaze. The sky above them was still leaking monsters. Everyone had been fighting for hours and were tired, and they all just wanted this to be over.

In a morbid way their wish was granted. The crack in the sky widened into a canyon, the endless discharge ceasing. The monsters all paused in their place, turning to face the wound in the sky like it was their Mecca. For one brief moment the world held its breath, before it began to _scream_.

One lone figure descended from the wound.

Promising pain, destruction, and suffering for many.

The Goddess smiled.

She had spotted a girl with brown hair in the little village far beneath her.

One with no hero at her side.


End file.
